RJ's Secret
by slytherensangel26
Summary: Dai Shi is defeated and now, when RJ's one time flame shows up at his door, abandoning their cub, RJ must work to transition from the role of Mentor to father...with the help of a certain former student... Rated M to cover all the bases...
1. RJ's secret

**Okay, so I have been wanting to do a Jungle Fury fic for a while and then was attacked by this plot bunny when I wasn't expecting it. But the venom from the plot bunny spread and this fic is the result of it. LOL. This is my first RJ/Lilly fic and I know it's not a popular pairing but it's grown on me..**

**Please be kind and don't flame me.**

**Lastly, I don't own Power Rangers... *sigh* if I had...Oh the changes I would make...**

**Enjoy!**

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It had been a long day for the workers of Jungle Karma Pizza. But really none of them were complaining. With Dai Shi vanquished and the world back to normal they were finally free to pursue their dreams. With Dom and Fran out back packing the pizza place had become quiet, really quiet.

Okay, so it had become really boring. But RJ didn't really mind too much. After battling Dai Shi and his gruesome army of darkness, it was nice to sit back and relax. As he sat in his favorite chair in the den, he gazed around at his students turned masters. Casey and Lily were getting their groove on and Theo…well he had turned in for the night. Earlier he had told Lily how he felt…and it had not gone well, all this time, Lily had only seen him as her best friend and didn't want to mess that up.

RJ really felt bad for the blue ranger who was at the moment nursing his wounded heart. RJ could relate. In one night he had met a woman, gotten drunk, slept with her and then woke up the next morning alone. Angel was her name, but shiny innocent she wasn't. By the next night she had moved on to the next lucky bastard and acted like he didn't exist. Since that night, he had never taken another woman. Ever. But many a night had he lain in bed dreaming of another woman…

Across the room, that woman of his dreams was dancing with her other best friend and feeling guilty as hell. She'd known Theo was in love with her…and at one time she'd returned his feelings…but those feelings had disappeared the moment she'd stepped through the door of Jungle Karma Pizza and seen the handsome guy who had become her mentor, teacher, and hell the man whom she couldn't stop dreaming about…it was forbidden for a student to fall in love with a Pai Zhuq master,…but now he was no longer her teacher…but a fellow master. And in her mind he was no longer off limits…many times she had danced with Casey and pretended it was RJ dancing with her. Not that she'd ever tell him…

Just then their thoughts were interrupted by an alert on the monitor telling him that there was someone at the front door. He sat up in his chair and looked to see two shadowy figures under the light. RJ furrowed his brow and got up to go answer it. Behind him Casey and Lily stopped dancing and followed their former teacher down to the resturant.

RJ wasn't planning for the visitors that showed up. And when he answered the door and saw who was standing there, his eyes widened.

"Angel, I wasn't planning to see you here…ever. What are you two doing here?"

The tall gorgeous woman with long black hair sneered. "Returning what's yours." Having said that she reached behind her and pushed a shivering little girl towards him.

RJ looked down at his daughter. "Adriana?" he looked at her and then up at her mother. "What are you talking about? She's your daughter too!"

From behind him Casey and Lily gawked…since when did RJ have a kid?

"Not anymore, she is of no use to me. She can't win a pageant to save her life and I don't want her anymore…I will not spend another dime on her."

Theo had come down behind him and was now listening intently…rarely did the Pai Zhuq master lose his temper….but the master that stood at the door was practicly shaking with silent fury as he stepped toward the little girl gently pushing her behind him…and approaching the woman. "Lily, would you please take _my _little girl to the kitchen? I have something to discuss…with this…woman."

The little girl with look brown hair looked up at the teens with fearful eyes…she was extremely thin and scared looking. Lily carefully approached the little girl and then scooped her up in her arms and walked away…with a silent look at her teammates she told them to stay behind…they couldn't run the pizza parlor with RJ in jail.

"What the hell are talking about? I sent 1,000 dollars to you every month to take care of her! Where did all the money go?"

"That money went to me…though it wasn't nearly enough payment to take care of that little wretch. She's lazy, can't do a thing on her own and frankly I'm sick of caring for her. She's your responsibility now."

"She's 5! She's not supposed to be involved in pagents. She's supposed to be playing with all the other little girls. My resturant has been in the red because I sent you money to take care of my little girl.. not to take care of yourself. You don't deserve to be her mother. The only good thing that came of that night was that she was created."

Angel sniffed. "It wasn't my fault you couldn't pull out in time…from your groans and moans I had assumed that you were enjoying yourself…"

RJ rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you were pretty good…but had I known that you were the village bicycle I would never have climbed on…besides, when alcohol is involved its hard to tell the mountains from mole hills."

The two teens behind him flinched when the woman nailed him between the legs but to his credit RJ didn't fall to the ground holding himself…but he did look like he was in pain.

That was enough for Casey to go into ranger mode and he stepped protectively in front of the wolf ranger while Theo helped the master to a nearby chair.

"That's enough. I won't have you violate this place anymore with presence. You dropped the little cub off, there's no reason for you to stay here anymore. Get lost."

The woman was already pissed off and the anger gleamed in her eye. "What are you gonna do about it? You don't have the balls to hit me."

A snarl was heard from behind him and everyone turned to look at Lily who had just come in. She had seen the damage done to the little girl and was now ready to take down the woman who had dared harm the cub. To any normal person she would have looked like a really pissed off teenager…to the Jungle Fury rangers, the spirit of the cheetah was shining out from her and the look on her face was that of a mother cat defending her cub…and it was terrifying. Even Casey stepped back as she walked passed him.

"No he knows better then to hit a woman…But, I don't …and I would have no problem taking you out where you stand. I've seen what you have done to that little girl, and right now it's taking all the self control I have to not beat you down like the bitch you are. You'd better leave."

The woman sized her up. "Oh, you must be RJ's bed warmer…tell me, did you need a magnifying glass to find-"

A loud growl was heard followd by a shriek and the next thing everyone knew Angel was on the floor with claw marks on her face and Lily was standing over her…and she was still snarling. "Leave. Now."

The woman looked shocked and stared up at her from her seat on the floor. "You will regret this."

Lily growled and her eyes flashed yellow with the spirit of the cheetah but in the next second RJ had a hand on her shoulder. "Easy Girl. I can take it from here."

Lily was still shaking with anger but didn't move from her spot as RJ stepped in front of her.

"You forget one thing Angel. So far tonight, you've commited three crimes that could be brought up against you. One, you assaulted me. Two, you degraded a child and if I find out that you have done more then parade her around like a porcilen doll and degrade her, I can bring you up on child abuse charges, and three, you have come into this resturant and then refused to leave when you are clearly not wanted here and that would of course be trespassing. If you don't want me to take you to court…I suggest you leave."

Lily snarled again and that was enough to make Angel get to her feet and walk out the door a little faster then she came in. RJ turned to look at Lily who was only just growling softly.

"It's okay Lily, you did what you had to. I need you to relax... Breathe."

Lily looked into his eyes and then closed them taking several deep breaths and then a few seconds later she opened them again looking much calmer.

Lily then blushed and looked away before walking to the kitchen. With her anger gone, she remembered being accused of sleeping with RJ…not that she hadn't thought about it a few times…but to have it blasted in her face…

She didn't know if she'd have the courage to look at him in the eyes ever again.

With the doors closed again they all headed to the kitchen to see the new arrival. When they got there, they found Adriana sitting on a stool next to the counter with the pizza in front of her…she had barely picked at it.

RJ walked up behind her being careful to not frighten her. "Adriana, aren't you hungry?"

The little girl shook her head. "Angel said that I can't have pizza. It'll make me fat."

RJ was quiet as he looked at Lily and then at his little girl again. _What had Angel done to her?_

"But Angel isn't here anymore, I'm your dad. And You have my permission to eat pizza. He reached out to gently smooth the bangs off her face only to have her flinch as if…

RJ was quiet and Casey and Theo could see the anger in his eyes. They all knew what the child's actions meant…

They all looked at the wolf ranger and saw him visibly working to calm himself. He approached his daughter again this time keeping his distance so as not to upset her.

"You will never see Angel again. I'm your dad and you're my cub. You're perfectly safe with us." He paused for a moment before looking at her lovingly. "Now how about we warm up this pizza and get you some more milk to drink?"

Adriana looked unconvinced and a little nervous..but eventually she nodded and took a bite of her pizza…and then another…and another and soon she was slice was gone. But her stomach still growled and she looked like she wanted more.

RJ looked at his child and gave her another piece. "Eat slowly Adriana, we have a lot of food here. Your never going to starve again."

But Adriana was barely listening still intent on devouring the food. In truth Angel had never given her anything to eat…as punsishment for stumbling and falling on the walk way…she had been so weak from the imposed diet that she couldn't think of anything else but food…

A gentle hand was on her back rubbing it. She stopped eating and looked up fearfully. RJ had left with the boys leaving just Lily. She looked at the blonde girl and then back at her food.

Lily wasn't sure what had come over her…and why she felt the maternal instinct…but as she and the little girl locked eyes something passed between them and a second later the little girl was clinging to her and sobbing. Lily held the little girl close to her and knew that the little one would not be eating anymore tonight and so she picked her up and walked out of the kitchen and up to the loft with the little girl curled up in her arms.

When she got to the loft she sat down on the couch and held the little girl in her arms and patiently waitedfor the tears subside.

* * *

Down in the restaurant, RJ sat across from his comrades discussing the situation that had developed.

"When were you planning to tell us you had a daughter?" Casey asked giving his former teacher a confused look.

"I've known about Adriana since she was three when Angel came to demand child support from me. I knew that I wasn't the only man she'd ever slept with…seeing as how the night after the party I saw her out with someone else…so of course I demanded a paternity test. It came back positive. I couldn't bare the thought of my cub being around all those strange men…but Angel said that she had grown attached to her and wanted to keep her…we butted heads again and again until we came to an agreement, we decided that Adriana would stay with her mom if she wouldn't sleep around and I would pay her 1000 dollars a month plus any doctor bills and I would get to see her any time I wanted to make sure she was okay."

"Around the time Jarrod let Dai Shi escape I found out that Angel had broken her word. I confronted her again and demanded custody…but then Master Mao contacted me saying that you guys would come and that the world was in danger." RJ sighed. "I couldn't bear the thought of my daughter being used as leverage against me so I let Angel keep Adriana and kept paying support to her."

"Even with her far away, I was still worried for her safety so I asked Dom and the masters to keep an eye on her. With the war over I was planning to go get my daughter…I was going to get her a bed and whatever else a little girl needs...I really wasn't planning for her to show up tonight." RJ sighed again and then he got a look of determination on his face. "But now that my cub is here and is completely in my care I can be the dad she needs me to be…the dad I should have been." This last part was said quietly as he looked down at his hands.

The men were quiet not sure how to help their friend.

"What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know…I am totally unprepared for this. I think the first thing I am going to do would be to let her sleep. Then tomorrow, she's gonna need some clothing. No daughter of mine is gonna be paraded around in designer clothes…she deserves better then the life she's had. I've got a long way to go before she even begins to trust me…you saw how she flinched in there. I hate it that she's scared of me and I have no idea what she's had to endure."

"Lily's doing great so far." Casey said. "I've never seen her so riled up…not even when facing Camille."

Theo sighed looking at his lap reminding them all of the heart break the blue ranger had gone through earlier. "It'll be okay. There's plenty of girls at the school." RJ said, "You'll find someone."

Theo shrugged sadly. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you all in the morning." The other two watched him leave before getting up themselves and heading to bed. It had been an eventful evening and they were all exhausted.

As RJ walked into the loft he saw Lily on the couch asleep with Adriana cuddled up to her…he couldn't deny the warm feeling in his heart when he saw his cub curled up protectively in the yellow ranger's arms. He knew that his daughter would never come to harm with her around…

He smiled before draping a blanket over the both of them and allowed himself to gently stroke the side of his baby girl's cheek. She sighed contentedly and slept on.

As he climbed into bed he knew that his life would never be the same, he had a long way to go where his daughter was concerned and he resolved to win her over to him. Then he thought of the yellow ranger again…when Lily had gone after the…bitch he had silently cheered her on and for a split second he had imagined what it would be like to have her as his cub's mother…

But as soon as that thought presented itself, he rejected it…he was way too old for her and wanted her to find someone who could devote his free time to her and only her…but then he also couldn't deny that he felt a little lonely these days…and he would also love to find a mom for his daughter…

But as soon as that thought came he dismissed it…

_No, he would not burden her with such a responsibility…unless she wanted it…_

He turned over on his side and fell asleep.

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**Well, what do you think? Let me know!**


	2. Reversing The Damage

**Greetings! I am thrilled that all of you are taking this so well! its my first JF piece and I am so glad its getting the attention it deserves! **

**You all know what I own and what I don't!**

**so, without further ado...Chapter 2!**

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RJ didn't sleep much that night….in his mind he kept thinking over and over about his daughter. Adriana had seemed so tiny in Lily's arms…tiny and frightened. He had been so furious at that Angel bitch for treating their cub so horribly that he soon found himself laying awake in his bed. After about an hour of staring at his ceiling, he went into the kitchen to get himself a snack, hoping that food could lull him to sleep.

That's how he ended up in his chair. He'd turned it so he could watch his little girl sleeping in the arms of the beautiful master. He couldn't help but love the way Lily's arm curved protectively around his cub. And he also noticed how tightly Adriana clung to the yellow ranger.

As if her life depended on it. And in a way she did. He didn't know if his little girl could ever separate herself from his former student's side. His heart had sunk when she had flinched at his touch…as if she'd expected him to hit her.

RJ closed his eyes fighting back the anger he felt. It would not do for his child to see him angry…the confrontation had been enough. The last thing he wanted to do was show anger in front of her again. A cub should never fear her father. Ever!

But how to do it? He glanced at her again….she had been dropped off in a frilly little pink dress that looked like it came from one of those expensive little shops…and her little shoes looked way too uncomfortable…how could any woman let alone a little girl ever walk in those things?

It wasn't something he could ask Lily about. He knew from experience that Pai Zhuq students always wore their training shoes. If he was a betting man he would wager a hundred bucks that Lily had never seen high heels in her life.

He sighed. That was one of the first things on his to do list….go and get some clothing…he had the mind to burn those rags the moment she changed into her play clothes…which he first needed to buy for her. RJ got up from his chair and headed down the stairs towards his office…he needed to check his books and see how much he could spend on her.

He was thrilled that he no longer had to pay that gold digger any more child support…now he could make sure that every dime he made could be used to take care of his cub.

Upon checking his account he was thrilled to see that the payment for the month had yet to go through…with a sense of happiness he picked up the phone and called the bank…

"Yes Maam…I would like to put a stop payment on the account…"

* * *

A few hours later, Lily woke to hear some one crying…immediately her maternal instinct kicked in and she looked down to see the little girl crying fitfully clinging to her JKP uniform that she had yet to change out of. From the way her eyes were clinched shut and her little body was quivering.

Lily's heart went out to the little girl and she immediately started stroking the little cubs back soothingly. "Wake up sweet heart…your safe with me." she kept repeating herself softly till at last the little cub opened her eyes.

Adriana looked up at her fearfully before closing her eyes again and relaxing her grip. "That's right little one…you're okay." she said still rubbing her back soothingly. The next time their eyes met, the cub was looking up at her trustingly and hiccupped some more.

The little girl had been scared when her mom first dragged her out of the car and shoved her towards the man she was sure was her dad…but then the woman that had so carefully picked her up and been so nice…and the moment she had first picked her up she had never felt safer…and now that she was being held in her arms, she knew that this was one person she could trust…and she felt so warm and comfortable…then her stomach growled. She looked up at the nice lady again.

"Are you hungry Adriana?"

Still hiccupping she nodded.

Lily picked her up and carried her towards the kitchen and sat her on the bar stool. "What do you like to eat?"

Adriana bit her lip. She had never gotten the choice or asked what she wanted to eat…

"We have some cereal, and some fruit. And some milk."

She looked into the nice woman's eyes and felt the warm glow coming from her.

"Can I have some cereal…and some milk?"

Lily smiled, happy that the child was responding to her. "Sure, coming right up."

As Lily got her some cereal, Casey and Theo soon appeared at the counter. "Morning Lily, Adriana." The man in red said smiling kindly at her. She looked at Lily for reassurance and then dropped her eyes still not able to meet their gaze.

Lily walked over to the little cub and hugged her. "It's okay sweetheart. These are my friends…they won't hurt you." she said comfortingly in her ear. The guy in red is Casey and the one in blue is Theo. They only want to help you."

Adriana bit her lip and then taking a deep breath slowly looked up and saw that they were both looking at her with concern in their eyes. "Hi." she said softly before lowering her gaze again.

They both breathed a sigh of relief and sat down still keeping their distance from her and next to her sat Lily who was still rubbing her back soothingly. "Don't eat it too fast…your daddy won't be happy if you get sick."

"You're right." RJ said coming up the stairs. "If my cub gets sick she won't be able to go shopping with us later." He held up a pink and blue bag. I've got you some real clothes and when you get done eating you can take a bath and get rid of those rags you're wearing."

Adriana looked at the bag and then met his eyes. His eyes had the same softness that Lily had…and she found as he slowly walked near her that she wasn't afraid…though she still clung to Lily. "Would you like to see what I got you?"

Still looking at her dad, she nodded slowly.

Casey and Theo and Lily watched on in silence noticing that this was going to be a special moment.

Still moving slowly, RJ put the bag on the counter and pulled up a bar stool and sat on it. "I couldn't help noticing that when you came here you didn't have anything with you…not even a teddy bear. So, when I saw this little wolf needing a home, I thought of you." he produced the stuffed animal and held it out to her.

Adriana looked at it in wonder for a moment and then gently reached out a hand and stroked its soft grayish blue fur. It was extremely soft. She gently took it from him and examined it before cuddling it close and…smiled.

RJ let out a soft sigh of relief and so did everyone else. Still being careful not to make any swift movements, he pulled out a simple purple T-Shirt with some hearts on it and showed it to her. "I don't know what your favorite color is…but purple is mine. I hope you like it too."

"I like purple." she said softly.

"I thought you might." RJ said smiling. "I got you some blue jeans with butterflies on them…" Adriana was still watching him as he layed the jeans out on the counter. "Then I got you some purple socks and some nice new shoes to go with the ensamble.

"Then, after you get your bath you can brush your hair with this..." He trailed off as his little cub got a fearful look in her eyes, dropped her stuffed animal and hid her face in Lily's chest.

RJ fought to control himself and then slowly got closer and tentatively rubbed her back soothingly. "Adriana. Did Angel ever hurt you with a hair brush?" he asked.

Theo and Casey were still looking on doing a great job of controlling themselves and keeping quiet as the little girl froze up.

Adriana, I'm your dad…and you'll never see Angel again. And I'm never gonna hurt you. You won't get in trouble for telling me. If she hurt you, I need to know." He was still stroking her back soothingly.

Slowly, very slowly, she nodded. Lily met RJ's eyes giving him a silent message.

If Angel ever showed herself ever again…there would be hell to pay. The Pai Zhuq master nodded in agreement and then gently picked up the stuffed animal again.

"Adriana. I need to know what she did to you so I can make it better. You don't have to say anything…just look at me and nod. Ok?"

After a few moments the little girl turned around still wrapped up in Lily's arms and accepted the stuffed animal again holding it close to her chest.

"Did Angel ever hit you with a hair brush?"

The little girl nodded.

"Did anyone ever use a belt to punish you?"

Another nod.

RJ held his breath before asking you the next question.

"Did a man Angel was dating ever do anything to hurt or scare you?"

Adriana nodded again.

RJ closed his eyes fighting to control himself and then opened his eyes again.

"You don't have to tell me any more." he reached out a hand and gently stroked the side of her face wiping away a tear. "I'm your dad Adriana. I love you and I want you to know how bad I wanted you to come live here with me. And now that you're here, I'll never let anyone hurt you. Do you understand?"

The little girl nodded and then slowly scooted back onto the barstool and then to everyone's surprise wrapped her arms around her dad's neck only to be wrapped up in his arms.

"That's my girl." he said softly giving her little kisses on the top of her head. Lily was wiping a tear away from her eye and then he looked at Theo and Casey who were beaming at him.

He smiled back knowing that he had managed to cross the first hurdle…though he knew that there would be many more in the healing process.

After several more minutes, he set her back down on the stool. "Why don't you go ahead and finish your cereal, I need to speak with Theo and Casey for a moment okay?"

Adriana nodded and started eating her breakfast again.

RJ smiled at her again and walked over to the work out mat with the other two masters following him.

"I've closed up the restaurant for today due to a family emergency. You guys should use this day to get some R&R. I'm going out with my daughter and Lily to get some things that she needs. I won't have my little cub sleeping on the couch every night."

Casey and Theo nodded

"Anything we can do to help?" Casey asked.

"Nope, with Fran gone things are gonna get a little more challenging. This may be the only day you get to relax…so, use it wisely."

"Personally, I prefer to…" RJ trailed off when he realized he was talking to himself and sighed…._masters they may be…but they were also teenagers. _He sighed again and headed in the direction of the bathroom where he heard the water running.

Hesitating for a moment he peeked into the corner and saw that his little girl sitting in the bathtub with Lily washing her hair. Then he saw the bruises…they seemed to cover her everywhere. He squinted his eyes and saw a few on her behind and a few on her legs.

Having sensed his presence, Lily look up and shared a grim look before continuing with the bath…even with her gentle touch, the little girl still whimpered softly.

That was enough for RJ to see and he couldn't be in the same room anymore so he left to go work out his anger on the exercise mat.

_One thing was for sure….if that bitch dared come around the pizza shop…she'd have the devil to pay._

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**Well? What do you think of this one? Please leave a review!**

**See you all next time!**


	3. Chance Encounter

**Hey everyone! **

**I am sorry it's taken this long for the update but I think you will all be satisfied. As you will notice, i have decided to make this story a part of the BTA universe...it think you will all like it. I know this idea was already used by knightwood as far as bringing anyone close to Tommy Oliver into the story, but to avoid plagerism, I wrote to knightwood and got her permission to use her idea.**

**So, now flames people!**

**Please enjoy the story and send me lots of reviews!**

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**DUE TO A FAMILY EMERGENCY, JUNGLE KARMA PIZZA WILL BE CLOSED FOR TODAY,**

**WE WILL BE OPEN TOMORROW AT 10 WE APOLIGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIANCE THIS MAY CUASE.**

**THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING!**

**MANAGEMENT**

"Damn." Swore a young man under his breath. He was a 19 year old dressed in a black t-shirt and a pair of black and white jogging pants.

His companion and wife, who was the same age as him and was dressed in a light green tank top and darker green shorts and had her hair pulled back in a green and black bandanna looked back at the sign. The sign says it was a family emergency. I'm sure there's a good reason for closing shop."

Tyler Park looked at his wife of 2 weeks and sighed. "I know, its just frustrating to be so close and yet so far."

His wife looked at him and smiled softly. "Ty, I can't read your mind like I do my brother's. What is so important about this place?"

It's a very strong feeling. I can feel a very strong animal spirit here, my inner spirit drew me to this place. And I know the Jungle Fury rangers operated with their animal spirit…I feel drawn to this place."

Terra closed her eyes and reached out with her senses and soon felt a throbbing pulse from within the building. She bit her lip and opened her eyes looking up at him.

"You're right. I feel it now…I hope everything's okay." She looked at him curiously. "Is there a special reason why we are looking for the Jungle Fury rangers?"

Tyler grinned at her. "Don't tell my you aren't the least bit interested in finding our fellow rangers?"

Terra grinned at him. "It'd be cool if we could find them…" she trailed off looking at the sign again. "But I don't want to bother them if they are dealing with a family emergency."

Her partner nodded at her. "We can try back tomorrow, how about we go get some breakfast somewhere else and come back tomorrow. Lets go see what this city has to offer us."

His wife grinned at him. "How long do we have to spend here? I know Dad's gonna need us back at the dojo before the end of the month."

Tyler grinned at her. "We have about a week and a half before lessons start up. Let's go have some fun!"

Terra grinned at him and kissed him softly.

The black Ninjetti kissed her back and then chuckled as his wife's stomach grumbled.

"Let's go get some breakfast."

Then they walked off.

* * *

At the same time up in the loft, RJ who was waiting in his chair for his daughter and Lily to come out froze suddenly feeling an odd sensation. He turned on the monitor quickly but only saw to shadows…

"_I bet they are only disappointed customers…it's a shame to loose all that business." _he thought to himself.

"She's all ready to go!"

He looked up to see his beautiful daughter wearing the clothes he had bought her and smiled at the way her hair had been done up in just a simple pony tail. Not a single fancy curl anywhere. And in her hand, was the little stuffed wolf he had gotten her.

He got up and felt his back pocket to be sure his wallet was there. "Alright. Come on Adriana. There's shopping to do."

He got up and held a hand out for his daughter, but he was surprised to see that she was still holding on to Lily's hand…_as if it was a life line. _

"Adriana, you're dad's waiting for you. I bet he may even take you to the park…go on now."

But the young cub was shaking her head furiously and clinging tighter to her hand.

RJ frowned in thought, and walked closer to them. "You know Lily, I don't mind you coming along. I don't know much about little girls…maybe you could help her pick out the things that she likes." he looked at his daughter again. "Besides I don't think she'd let you leave her side."

Lily sighed and looked down at the cub. "Okay, let me get my shoes on." and she headed back to her room.

RJ smiled and looked at his daughter who had just climbed into his lap. "You really like Lily don't you?"

Adriana nodded. "She's a much better mommy then Angel."

_A better mommy?_

RJ looked at his daughter again. "You know she's not your mommy... right?"

Adriana looked at him and bit her lip.

Her eye spoke to him of what she wanted.

He spoke softly to her. "You want her for your mommy?"

Adriana nodded.

RJ looked at her and then grimaced. His daughter was looking at him longingly. He doubted that Angel had given her the love she needed. His daughter had never known the love of a mother. _How could she be hungry for love she had never known? _

_But, Lily had given her the care she needed. Oh dear… its like giving a starving man food…they can't get enough of it… _

He looked at his daughter again as Lily came out ready to go. His daughter got off his lap and ran to her side.

_She's hooked._

He smiled again and got up. "Come ladies."

Adriana grinned and pulled Lily towards the stairs.

As he followed them out of the restaurant he began thinking…he didn't know how Lily felt about him. _What if she doesn't like me that way? _he thought worriedly. I've spent so long being her teacher…her master…her mentor. Even though she was now a full pai zhuq master.

He glanced at his daughter who had somehow found a new spot on Lily's hip. He stole a look at the holder of the cheetah spirit and then remembered back to the fierce protective way she had come to his defense…and the outrage she displayed at his daughter's mistreatment…_just like mother cheetah defends her cubs…_

_It's so obvious. _

_She's attached to my cub…and my cub is attached to Lily…and my cub is attached to me…_of the three of them…only him and lily were left unattached.

But even though Lily would make a good mom, there was much more his daughter would need. He wanted her to grow up in a loving home…with both a mom and dad that loved each other…and loved her.

He wasn't sure he could give Lily a good life. All he had to offer was a home and a job. He didn't know if his heart was capable of giving her the love she deserved.

In a way, he had been wounded. His first experiance making love was not the special time it should have been. It had not been his wedding night and the woman he'd had sex with had not been his wife…just a fellow drunken party guest. He couldn't deny that he had been hurt at how quickly she had moved on…or the shame he had felt at the knowledge that she was the village bicycle. And that he was just another rider.

There had been nothing special about that first time, he could barely remember anything leading up to his first time.

He looked at Lily again. She was so pure and innocent. She knew nothing of carnal desire…he was scared to even try and woo her. He didn't want to make a move on her not knowing how she felt about him.

RJ remembered the pain he felt at seeing that bitch hanging all over the other guy the next night. The last thing he wanted was for his…for Lily to experience the same pain he felt. He couldn't bear the thought of her hurting…she didn't deserve to get dragged into this.

But then what could he do about it? His daughter needed Lily and himself to take care of her…as he had learned this morning…there were things only a woman could do.

He looked up and saw that they had come to a little girl's clothing store, the very same one he had come to that morning. He walked in and saw to his amusement that Lily and his baby girl were looking over some more purple clothing. Lily was down on one knee discussing a pair of blue jean shorts He smiled at them as he watched the interaction. Lily held up a purple shirt over the shorts and frowned as Adriana shook her head and pointed to…a yellow shirt.

RJ narrowed his eyes and looked as Lily and his daughter continued to discuss the shirt. He chuckled as his cub gave the former jungle fury ranger a pleading look and held it up to her chest. Lily sighed and then held up the pair of jean shorts under the yellow shirt and said something to cub who then nodded.

Lily looked up at him and then back at his daughter before giving in and putting the first outfit into the little shopping basket she had slung on her arm.

After picking out some little girl undergarments, some more shirt and short combinations, a few pairs of pajamas, they headed over to the shoe section.

The wolf ranger looked on as they picked out another pair of sneakers, and a pair of sandals. Then they hit another snag. He looked on in confusion as Adriana started pointing to the shoes Lily was wearing, he looked down and saw that she was wearing the foot wear that every female pai zhuq students wore…they could only be found at the school.

He walked over to them and got on one knee. "Is there something wrong here?"

Lily bit her lip. "She wants shoes like mine. They can only be found at the school."

RJ shrugged. I bet I can get her some, the next time I go to the school."

"What school?" Adriana asked curiously.

"The school, where Casey, Theo and I leaned to fight, before we came here to work for your dad." she explained with a smile.

This answer seemed to satisfy the little girl's curiosity and she looked at her daddy. "Are their any more shoes like hers?"

RJ shrugged. "Maybe, but if you're done here maybe we can go to the next store, so we can pick out a bed for you to sleep in okay?"

"I get a bed too?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, we can't have you sleep on the couch every night."

"But isn't that where Lily sleeps?"

Lily chuckled. "No, I have a bed room and a bed of my own."

"Can I have a bed like yours?"

The cheetah ranger smiled at her. "No, my bed is way too big. You need a bed that's just the right size for you." Lily explained with a smile.

The little girl looked like she wanted to insist but then she lowered her gaze and then looked up. "Can we go get it?"

Sure, just let me pay for these and then we can go pick a bed out and then we can go." RJ said holding his hand out for the basket.

Lily handed over the basket before giving the cub her stuffed wolf back.

After paying for the clothes, lily accepted the shopping bag and then smiled as Adriana took her dad's hand and then chuckled as she also grabbed her hand walking contently between them.

* * *

**2 hours later**

At the park, under the shade of a big tree Tyler sat on the ground with Terra sitting between his legs with her own drawn up to her chest. They had both had their fill and now were resting, or rather, she was resting but he was putting all his attention on her, he couldn't even keep his hands off her, not even for a moment.

He nuzzled her neck kissing it softly as she rested with her head on her knees with his hands on her hips still stroking everywhere. Terra moaned softly feeling part of him awaken…maybe it was time to get back to the hotel.

"Keep moaning like that and we will have to go back to the hotel. You know how I get when you do that." he whispered into her ear. She growled softly back.

"Why are you growling? You're a falcon not a tiger." he asked in a teasing voice.

She was about to answer when she heard a little girl's cry. Her sharp eyesight saw a little girl on the other side of the park crying. She got up and started walking towards her.

Adriana was sitting on the ground with tears in her eyes. She had gone after a ball that lily and tossed to her and had missed. What she hadn't seen was the sharp broken bottle that was just ahead of her. It had sliced her leg and she was bleeding profusely.

In seconds Lily and RJ were beside her trying to stop the bleeding. Neither of them had expected this to happen. After shopping and giving the delivery instructions to the furniture store they had decided to go to the park to run around. Something that the little cub had asked to do.

Now, they were both sitting on the ground trying to staunch the blood flow and comfort the crying little girl.

Suddenly, Lily looked up sensing the approach of another powerful warrior. Terra approached and crouched in front of them. "Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Unless you have a first aid kit, I can't think of anyway you could help." RJ said feeling defensive of his cub.

But Lily sensed a strong animal spirit coming from the stranger. "Do you go to the Pai Zhuq school?

"No, my brother and I trained under my dad." she said pressing her hand against the cut trying help stop the bleeding. "I'm Terra Oliver-Park."

"Are you related to Adam Park?" asked RJ looking at her closely.

"He's my father in law." she said as Tyler approached and knelt down next to his wife. "I'm Tyler Park. Adam Park's my dad. Is your little girl okay? What happened?"

"She cut herself on a broken bottle. I saw it but wasn't able to get to her in time." Terra answered looking at the little girl. "I'm gonna try and help you, I promise you It won't hurt."

Lily was looking at her closely. "I sense something different in you."

"That's because she's related to Tommy Oliver, the legendary power ranger." RJ said finally speaking.

Terra froze. "What are you talking about?"

"How could you know that?" Tyler asked.

"I don't want to discuss this right now, I need to get my cub to a clinic. I don't want the cut to get infected."

Tyler gave his wife a look. She looked around and noticed that they were alone. RJ and Lily watched in curious silence as Tyler put his hand over his wife's and got a look of concentration on his face. After a few seconds a warm glow enveloped their hands…and a few seconds later they took their hands away and the bleeding had stopped, there wasn't even a scar. "There we go, we just need to get the blood cleaned off." Terra said smiling at the little girl.

"How did you do that?" Lily asked in surprise.

Tyler grinned. "To those who are Ninjetti, anything is possible." as Terra wrapped a handkerchief around her leg. But we've also learned to cover our tracks.

I don't understand. Lily said.

RJ looked at her as he gathered the sniffling little girl in his arms. "Lets get back to the loft. We can compare notes there."

* * *

**I'm sure for all you people who have read the BTA series, it's strange to see Tyler and Terra acting like this...but JF is way into the future, old enough for them to be married.**

**What do you think of this chapter? Let me know!**


	4. The Visitors

**This is turning into a whirlwind story isn't it! I hope you are all enjoying this little fic! **

**Once again, I don't own JF or the Power Rangers!**

**Here's the next chapter! **

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"You mean to tell me that _you're_ the owner of this place?" asked Tyler when they walked up to JKP. "I thought it was closed for a family emergency?"

"It _is_ an emergency. I'll tell you more about it when we get my cub upstairs." RJ said as they walked up the stairs to the loft. Behind them, Lily cradled Adriana close to her. As she sat the youngling on the counter RJ continued to fill in the visitors.

"Yesterday, most unexpectedly, my one time flame showed up and abandoned my little girl. I wouldn't have had to close up shop, but the….woman dropped her off with nothing but the clothes on her back. Literally. I'll spare you the details of what happened after that."

"Needless to say, I had absolutely nothing for her to wear or to sleep in. So, I closed up shop today so I can get her what she needs, I also could have taken her with me and let my employees handle business, except that my little girl is very attached to Lily and would never have gone alone with me. She needs Lily. She's terrified to be without her."

Tyler closed his eyes and struggled to regain his sensibilities. His heart ached for the little girl who was so much like him. Terra sensed his quiet distress and slipped an arm around him patiently waiting out his. When he opened his eyes again he saw RJ looking at him curiously.

Terra spoke up. "Tyler was…in a similar situation when he was her age."

"My….the woman who gave birth to me dumped me on the door step of the dojo still attached to the cord and the blood sac. She left me there without even cleaning me off…wrapped up in a smelly old jacket. She didn't even make sure I was taken care of. Luckily, Adam and the other's found me. My birth mother didn't want me either…I didn't even know who she was. All I know of her was that she was heavily into drugs and alcohol."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Tyler smiled at him. "Its okay, Adam found me and kept me alive, gave me his name and then later on adopted me. If not for him, I may not have met the love of my life." Terra smiled softly and pecked his lips.

Lily smiled at them and finished sponging Adriana's knee which, thanks to the visitors, was good as new. No one really knew it, but she was a romantic and the love she could feel between the two Ninjetti was something she longed for. She didn't even know if RJ could ever be like that. She had gotten to know and witnessed the mentor/fighter side of the Pai Zhuq master and she wondered what his romantic side was like.

"…were all the way on the other side of the park. How could you know she was hurt?"

Lily's head snapped up hearing the question and now focused back into the conversation that was going on.

"We're Ninjetti. It gives us the same abilities that our animal spirits posses. I have the spirit of the falcon, like my father. It gives me vastly improved eyesight and almost flawless agility. I was sitting across the park and saw her heading towards the broken glass bottle. I'm only sorry I wasn't able to get to her before she got hurt."

At that moment they heard very loud laughing and joking around and they all looked up to see Theo half trip up the stairs soon followed by Casey. But all joking stopped when they saw the visitors.

"And here we have our courageous red and blue rangers." RJ said with an arched eyebrow.

"More friends of yours?" Casey asked once again back in red ranger mode.

"Yes, as a matter of fact they are. Meet Terra and Tyler Park.. They are visitors and fellow rangers. You can speak freely around them."

"Power Rangers?" asked Theo.

Tyler looked at his wife. "Yes, my wife and I are both second generation Power Rangers. My parents were both Zeo and Turbo Rangers and my dad was the second black ranger."

"And my parents are Tommy and Kimberly Oliver. My dad was the original green and white ranger and then he later became the Red Zeo ranger. My mom was the original pink ranger. In addition to that three of our parents were Ninjetti. Tyler and I as well as my twin TJ inherited our own Ninjetti power through them."

"You have a twin?" Theo asked. "Yes, my twin brother TJ Oliver. The Ninjetti Power amplified our twin bond so that we can both hear each other's thoughts and sense each other's moods and emotions. Through a little accident we discovered that we are also able to communicate telepathically."

"Amazing." Lily breathed causing every one to look up at her.

Terra smiled at her. "It was very cool, our link allowed us to communicate any time we wanted unless we chose to throw up a mental wall to block each other out." Here she smiled at her husband. "Which came in handy once my brother and I got serious in our relationships."

Tyler chuckled. "When I asked TJ's permission to marry his twin sister that was the one thing he insisted on before he gave his blessing, that we had our honeymoon some where far enough away so he wouldn't be forced to hear any thing that went on between us."

At RJ's confused look Tyler clarified. "When we were both of age, I felt compelled to ask not only her dad but also her twin's permission to marry her. I expected TJ to grill me for hours but surprisingly he went easy on me."

Terra chuckled and looked at him in amusement. "I heard his thoughts My Love. For a second he was going to challenge you to a duel for the privilege to marry me. But then he remember all the times during the battle with Grifforzor that you saved his butt and that was what saved you."

"So, that means that you were the two extra mysterious green rangers that the media was always trying to figure out?"

Terra grinned. My twin and I were the two extra green rangers. I'm the only female green ranger in the history of power rangers."

"Very cool." Lily said as she walked towards them with the little cub on her hip. She looked at Tyler. "You never told us what spirit you possess. May I ask what yours is?"

Tyler grinned. "A chameleon."

He stopped grinning when he saw everyone looking at him. "What's wrong?"

Slowly Terra came up to him and put an arm around him.

"Its okay guys. Its just that one of our former enemies also held the spirit of the chameleon. We're just a little bit surprised though I'm sure we all realize that you mean no malice."

"Of course." Ty said looking at them all. "I understand completely. If I make you a little uneasy you can feel free to test me and if you need a complete back story on me I'll gladly tell you everything."

"No, that's not necessary." RJ said. "I owe you one since you helped heal my little girl."

Tyler relaxed a little bit. "It was mostly Terra that did most of the work. It was her superior eyesight that saved your daughter. All my power gives me is the ability to blend into my surroundings and effortlessly climb any tall trees and buildings. Kind of like Spiderman."

Terra smiled at her husband. "It saved us more then once. I can assure you that he's a good guy. Although, he _was_ given over to bad boy tendencies during our years at Reefside. He gave the principle one hell of a headache." she grinned at Tyler again. "It _was _one reason I fell in love with you."

Her husband grinned. "The woman didn't like me. It's not _my_ fault that she was evil."

Terra grinned again before addressing their hosts again. "It infuriated Principle Randal to no end that she could never pin anything on him."

Tyler kissed the top of her head. "I have you and TJ to thank for that." he looked at the rangers again. "With their telepathic ability I always got at least a 45 second warning that she was heading my way. I always had plenty of time to disappear." He grinned mischievously at his wife again. "You guys saved my tail plenty of times."

RJ glanced at Lily who seemed to have a wistful look on her face. She looked so pure and innocent and it made her seem infinitely more beautiful to him. If not for her fierce fighting spirit, she would have reminded him of a princess. A dangerous princess he amended. More like Xena then Cinderella. Still she was beautiful.

In the next second as he looked at his daughter and was reminded that he was no prince. Just a man with a little girl in need of a mother. Then he remembered what his daughter has said earlier.

"_She's a much better mommy then Angel."_

He looked at the way the yellow ranger was holding on to his cub. She looked very much content to be in Lily's arms and at the moment his baby girl's head was resting on her shoulder. Adriana's eyes were drooping.

_She's had a long day. _

He walked towards Lily and his daughter and smiled at them. "I think this little cub could use a nap."

"And we had better get going too." Tyler said looking at his wife. "Your dad will want to know that we were successful in finding the Jungle Fury rangers."

"Ah, so you did have an ulterior motive in coming here." RJ stated looking at them.

"Terra had no idea, but her dad is the ranger historian and he asked me to see if I could find the latest team." Tyler said. He and her mom like to keep up with all the teams. He gave me a copy of the tape to prove everything he said is true."

"Sounds great. If you would like, we could have a late night pizza party tomorrow after the restaurant closes. Then we could get each other up to date on everything."

Tyler nodded. "That would be wonderful." He looked at his wife. "We haven't had a real pizza for a long time."

"So, tomorrow at 10?" RJ asked.

"We'll be here." Terra said smiling at them. Tyler threaded his fingers through his wife's and kissed the back of her hand. "Come sweetheart. Our bedchamber awaits."

With her eyes shining she kissed him softly and together they bid their new friends goodbye and were shown out by Theo who couldn't bare to be in the same room with Lily much longer.

Lily watched him go and felt the deepest sense of guilt knowing she was the cause of his broken heart. She wished he wasn't hurting so bad.

"He'll be okay." RJ said softly. "Why not give me Adriana, its time for her to take a nap before dinner, she's already falling asleep."

"Mmm…want Lily." she said through half lidded eyes. "I'll take tuck her in till her bed gets here."

"Mmm…want daddy too."

The two rangers looked at each other in silence. "Lets both tuck her in." Knowing what that meant Lily turned and headed for her room.

RJ had never been in her room before and he wondered what he would find. But what he did see surprised him. Over the course of the year she had fleshed out her room since she really didn't bring much with her. But now, as he saw, she had adorned her room with a lot of yellow things…and on the wall he saw that leather jacket she had worn when she was briefly turned evil.

She sat on her bed still cradling the little girl who was still fighting sleep. RJ gently sat on the edge of her bed and couldn't help but notice that there were a few purple things that were scattered throughout her room. Especially the plush pillow that she was currently leaning on.

_Could it be?_

He looked up at Lily who wouldn't meet his gaze. Instead her eyes were on his little cub. He slowly scooted up and began to remove her shoes being very careful to not twist her foot.

Her little feet were so beautiful to him as he gently removed her socks and put them on the side of the bed tucked into her shoes.

As lily watched him undress his daughter she couldn't help but notice how gentle he was. And for a split second she wondered what it would be like to have his hands doing the same thing to her.

She blushed at the thought and fought to shove it to the back of her head. The little girl came first.

In the back of his mind RJ was secretly wondering what lily looked like under her clothing….would her feet be dainty like his daughters or would they be rough and callused like a warriors. He had no idea what women did to their feet.

He knew little or nothing of women, except their differences from men and that they dressed nice and walked around in packs. But he was interested in learning more about them…about Lily. What made the yellow ranger tick? What were her likes? Her dislikes?

_Maybe by paying attention to her he would find out. Maybe he could…._

"She's asleep." came Lily's soft voice. RJ nodded and watched as the woman of his thoughts got up and took out the nightgown from the shopping bag and gently put it on his little girl.

Then when she was completely swathed in Lily's yellow blanket, Lily kissed her forehead softly and walked out of the room leaving RJ a few minutes with his cub.

He loved Adriana and wanted to find her a mommy. Lily would be his first choice hands down…but at the same time he felt like Lily deserved more…but maybe he could at least try and woo her. See if she felt the same way, which, from the subtle pieces of purple, she did.

As she walked out the door, he remembered again what the little girl had said about wanting Lily for a mommy. He kissed her forehead and then whispered, "Don't worry little cub. I'll do my best." then he got up, dimmed the lights and headed down the kitchen to start dinner.

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**What do you think of all the foreshadowing? Im sorry I wasn't more detailed with Tyler and Terra's ranger past..but i didn't want to give a whole lot away since the Grifforzor story has yet to come out!**

**Please leave a review!**


	5. Mixed Emotions of The New Kind

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates but there has been much drama going on in my house coupled with the AC breaking on me leaving the house at a constant 90 degrees even on cold nights. But anyway, here is the next update for you all to enjoy!**

**You all know what I own and what I don't own! **

**So, enjoy and please leave a review!**

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Lily woke up early the next morning in a state of confusion. She looked down to see Adriana curled against her and sleeping peacefully and looking very angelic.

_I really don't want to wake her. _She thought as she gently brushed a brown curl out of the little one's face. It had only been a few days but she deny that her maternal instinct was out in full force where the little cub was concerned. And now, she discovered that she held a desire to be a part of the little one's life. She looked down at the cub again.

She didn't want to disturb the little one's sleep. But she really needed to use the bathroom. So, as gently as she could, Lily disentangled herself from the little one's arms and got up quietly making her way to the bathroom.

As she went about her morning routine, thoughts went from Adriana to RJ. The night before she had felt the once dormant feelings of fondness and even desire for her former teacher rise up and remind her that they still existed.

When she had spoken up the night before to tell RJ that the little girl was asleep. Her voice had been softer then she had planned on. He would no doubt think she was using her soft voice out of regard for the sleeping child, but Lily knew that her soft tone of voice was evidence of how hard she had fallen for him…once again.

As she came out of the bathroom still clothed in her sleepwear which consisted of her work out pants and a yellow camisole with her sports bra underneath, which was a necessary habit developed being the only girl in the loft. She pulled her long hair into a scrunchy so it wouldn't get in the way and stood on the floor mat trying to center herself.

Her thoughts were jumbled and confused as she picked up the remote to the cd player and put in her workout selection. Then, as the music began to play she let her thoughts out to play and soon found herself thinking about RJ again, and how much she desired to be with him in more then just being a fellow master…as a girlfriend, lover, and maybe even a mate someday.

She danced.

But soon, her thoughts about RJ were interrupted by reality…the crushing reality about the fact that she couldn't allow herself to love the wolf ranger without hurting her best friend. She knew Theo was still nursing his broken heart. It was like cold water thrown on her.

No, she couldn't love RJ with Theo still around. She just couldn't do it. At this thought her heart cried out with longing and battled with her sense of right and wrong. Both her heart and sense were arguing with her and she was getting more and more frustrated by the moment.

Until finally, she pushed them both out and fully threw herself in to the dance, letting the beat of the music rule her.

From the stair way, RJ had been watching for a few minutes. He had been delighted with the happy look on her face and then grew concerned when it started to disappear and had quickly grown more then a little worried when her dance accompanied with a look of tortured frustrated became more and more violent.

He started toward her when suddenly someone else's voice spoke up.

"Daddy? Why is she moving like that?"

RJ looked down at his daughter who was sleepily rubbing her eyes. The Pai Zhuq master was about to answer when Lily gasped and fell to the floor. Both their heads shot up as Lily grunted and now she lay really still on her stomach.

"Lily!" Adriana was her side in the next second. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly before looking at her dad. "Why is she shaking?"

Lily just groaned again and then someone was gently sponging the side of her face. It felt nice…and then she heard RJ's voice.

"She's okay Adriana, She's just exhausted."

Immediately, she flushed at the thought of RJ watching her and then she blushed when she realized he'd seen her go sprawling like a cub.

"Daddy? Why is she turning red? Does she have a fever?"

Lily opened her eyes to see wide blue ones looking back into hers. She rolled back over on to her back and saw RJ with a towel in his hands and Casey standing behind him looking at her with knowing eyes.

She adverted her gaze and looked back at Adriana. "I'm fine, cub. I was just working out a little too hard and fell. I'm not the first to fall." she said hurriedly reassuring the little girl.

"Cub?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

Lily chuckled. "Of course. Everyone has an animal spirit inside of them, and little ones like you are called cubs."

"What's yours?" she asked. Lily tried to get up but gasped in pain and started to fall backwards when RJ caught her.

"She's a cheetah." Casey said as he along with his former teacher helped their comrade into 'the chair'. "An injured cheetah who has now somehow hurt her ankle."

"Will she be okay?" Adriana continued to question as her daddy took Lily's ankle in his hands and began to feel it. He saw it begin to swell and then grimaced. "Lily, does this hurt?" he asked gently pressing on the spot.

Lily stifled a groan and clenched her eyes shut.

"I see." RJ said as Casey brought a cold compress and the first aid kit. "Take a deep breath Lily, I don't feel any broken bones, but, it is swelling up. I think you just sprained it."

Lily opened her eyes and looked down at RJ as he began to wrap up her ankle with Adriana looking on. "But what about work? With Fran gone I can't-"

"Don't worry about us." RJ said as she continued to wrap up her foot. "If Fran could take care of the restaurant all on her own then I'm sure we can handle the work load-" he stopped seeing her dejected look.

He sighed. "The sounded better in my head."

"What he means, is that he wants you to rest and not hurt yourself further." said a familiar voice.

RJ and Casey looked up as Adriana scurried behind the chair to see Master Swoop standing there.

"Master swoop, what brings you here? RJ asked looking back at Lily's foot as he pressed the little silver clasp onto the end of the bandage and stood to his feet.

"I was on my way to take care of some Pai Zhuq business when I stopped by to check on your cub. But I couldn't sense her so I came to see if you had gotten her." he turned his head slowly as if looking for her. "But I sense her now."

"The…woman dropped her off to me." RJ said as he looked behind his chair. "It's okay Adriana, He's not gonna hurt you. He's one of my friends." he reassured her in a soothing voice.

For a second the little cub didn't move, then, slowly she peered out from behing the chair and seemed to look him over.

Master swoop smiled at her before turning his head back in RJ's direction. "I also sense that my former student is in distress."

Lily took a deep breath. "It's my fault Master Swoop." Lily said with a sigh. "I didn't mean to hurt him. I just don't feel anything other then friendship for him."

"I see." the blind master said with a smirk. "And where is he now?"

"I'm right here Master." Theo said sleepily.

The Pai Zhuq master turned to him. "I didn't know you were the sleepyhead of the bunch."

"I'm not." Theo said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Everyone else got up early this morning."

Master Swoop smirked and then turned back to RJ. "Come to think of it, I could use him on the mission. If you don't need him that is."

RJ seemed to think it over for a second then looked back at the blind master. "Theo has his stripes. It's up to him."

"What's the mission?" Theo asked running his hands through his hair, still trying to wake up.

We received some intelligence from your friend Dominique in regards to a student who went AWOL from the school. I believe she is a rival of yours. A girl by the name of…Jade?"

"Jade? But she left! I thought she ran away?"

"Maybe not. I don't know a whole lot about what happened. But Dom says he heard on the news about a were cat who was taken down and sent to an asylum once she was found to be human. When he went to investigate she saw her laying on a bed but the spirit of an ocelot was roaming her padded cell."

"Theo, I know you don't like-"

"When do we leave?"

* * *

_And then there were three. _RJ thought when Theo and master Swoop were gone. _But then, it should be easier to woo Lily with him gone. _he amended a second later as they came up with a plan of action. He didn't want Lily limping around on her ankle for the rest of the day, so they decided that she could at least run the register as long as she sat on a stool with her foot elevated. Casey would be the waiter and RJ along with his little helper would make the pizzas.

After helping Lily down the stairs, and to the register, he showed Adriana who now sported the smallest JKP t-shirt he owned and had her hair tied back in another of Lily's scrunches around the kitchen and began to show her how to roll the dough, which was something she seemed to master quickly and even seemed to enjoy.

And so, they opened the shop for the day.

By 3 o'clock Adriana had tired of making pizzas and so went up front to help Lily out and even to help Casey wipe off the table. Sometime during late afternoon the delivery guys showed up with Adriana's furniture and Casey went up to make sure their secrets stayed a secret but then, hurried to resume his duties.

By closing time they were all exhausted and thrilled when Tyler and Terra Park showed up and then the inquisition began along with the pizza party.

"Aren't you a little young to be married?" asked Casey.

Tyler shook his head. "We've been in love since Terra and her brother showed up 9 years ago in Angel Grove. It was challenge enough to wait till we both were 18 but Terra had been planning the wedding since we were 16." Terra blushed but didn't contradict him and he lovingly kissed her forehead. "We were both looking forward to it. Falling in love was easy when all of us kids were constantly surrounded by it."

"For our parents, the honeymoon never ended." Terra said with a soft smile "And we spent all those years with excellent examples of how relationships work. By the time of the wedding, we were already acting like a married couple. The ceremony only made it official."

"And what of your twin?" Lily wanted to know.

"Its hard to tell right now, being so far away from him I can't feel him. But when we left he was making plans to propose to his girlfriend Mei."

RJ chuckled. "So, your father in law asked you to come here on your honeymoon to find us?"

Tyler chuckled. "We didn't mind. The three of us have been interested in the power ranger teams since we found out our parents were the originals. You can imagine how excited I was for the chance to find the newest ranger team. If TJ hadn't been so involved with his girlfriend, he would have come here himself to find you. But, like I said before he didn't want to be with in 100 miles of us." Tyler smirked at his wife before giving her a chaste kiss.

"You mentioned a video tape?" Casey asked being just a little uncomfortable with all the sappiness that was being shown between the married couple.

"Yes. We brought the tape, but I don't see a VCR."

"There's one up in the loft, if you'll follow us?" RJ said picking up his daughter who was beginning to drift of to Dreamland and cradling her close to his chest as Casey helped Lily up the stairs and helped her to sit on the couch.

RJ left only for a moment to put his daughter on Lily's bed and then came back with another ice pack for Lily's foot. As he unrolled the bandage and checked the foot Tyler watched out of the corner of his eye and shared a glance with his wife who nodded and smiled.

As RJ wrapped her ankle back up Lily was looking at him with a certain fondness in her eye and after putting the little metal clasp back on, their eyes met and they shared a moment that seemed to last forever and Casey couldn't help but smile knowingly.

He had known for a long time that the yellow cheetah had been carrying the torch for RJ and had kept it to himself. He was enjoying watching it all unfold although he felt sorry for Theo and hoped that he would find his own closure and be able to find someone who did love him as more then a friend.

As for himself, he had his eye on a girl whos little brother was one of his youngest Kung Fu students. Her name was Melissa and though she seemed like a very tough girl he hadn't missed the little bit of fear and uncertainty when he'd offered to walk her and her brother to their house.

She was someone he longed to help…

But the movie had started so he sat on the work out mat and watched the story of their heritage and his own.

When the movie had finished. They all discussed the different teams and found out that between them all, they had set up a network and all of them helped each other when ever and however they could. And even Adam, Tyler's father could help them with their pediatric needs and give them a family discount which was something RJ said he would gladly take advantage of as soon as he got Adriana settled in.

It was like one big family of rangers. All of them taking care of each other when possible, and all the Jungle Fury rangers felt privileged to now be a part of it.

As they sat talking Casey spoke up. "What sort of martial arts do you practice?"

"Our dads and uncles teach mixed martial arts and we know some Ninja from our ninja ranger team and our time fighting Demetrius."

Terra shuddered and bit her lip and was instantly comforted by Tyler who silently whispered his apology while giving her a soft kiss.

"Demetrius?" asked Casey

"The guy who started all of the trouble, back before I knew I was Ninjetti, none of us knew back then that the Ninjetti power could be passed down through DNA. I won't go into it but he was dangerous and tried to kill us at least two times before my father in law finished him off for good. Our last battle with him was a close shave."

"As most are. But what I am curious about was how you came to be a chameleon when your father's animal spirit was a frog?"

Tyler shrugged. "My theory is that I didn't really have a set animal spirit. But my life was touched by all of the original rangers, they helped my dad raise me, they all mentored me and looked out for me and taught me their own personal style of martial arts, so that by the time I discovered I was Ninjetti, I had become a mix of all of them, like a chameleon I could copy their outfits and become a decoy which helped me protect Terra when the battles got too rough. I copied her style and costume and got the monster to attack me while TJ helped her regroup."

"Amazing." Lily breathed.

"What about you guys?" RJ asked.

"The school where we were taught was all Kung Fu. And I teach kung fu classes at the community dojo." Casey said smiling.

"I don't think I ever learned Kung Fu." Tyler said.

"You guys are welcome to sit in on a class if you want and maybe we can even do some sparring afterwards."

"Sounds like a challenge to me." Terra said looking at her husband. "I'm game." echoed Tyler grinning at him with a glitter of excitement in his eye.

"Excellent!" Casey grinned. "I teach it every Saturday morning just after my morning jog."

"We'll be there!" Terra said grinning.

After about an hour more of talking The Parks went home and Casey went to bed, leaving RJ and Lily alone. Being gentle and going slow, RJ helped her into her room and lowered her onto the bed before helping her to lay down.

He looked into her eyes for a few seconds as propped her foot up on a few of her extra pillows. Her eyes were locked onto his and he smiled softly. Your ankle should be fine by the morning. If not we'll have to take you to the emergency room."

"Thank you." She said in a softer voice as RJ picked up his daughter and placed her in the bed the delivery men had brought in and set up. "I owe it to you with the way you've taken care of my cub. You've done a better job then that…woman ever could." he answered as he pulled the covers up over his little girl before moving back to Lily's bed.

"Are you going to be comfortable like this? I can get you a few extra pillows if you need them."

Lily debated for a few minutes before nodding. If you have an extra pillow around, I usually sleep with at least 3 pillows under my head.

RJ grinned at her. "I usually sleep with the same amount but I can spare you one. Then he left her for a minute before going to his own room and retrieving an extra big fluffy pillow from his own bed and brought it down to her.

The instant after he put it under her head his scent filled her nostrils and she instinctively breathed it in. It smelled like….well, she never really was around anyone who wore cologne so she decided it smelled like RJ…wolf ranger.

And she liked it.

RJ grinned as he watched her with a soft smile on his face. "You know, maybe we can catch dinner some time, you've got to be sick of pizza by now."

"Naw, I love the pizza. _Especially when you cook it._

When RJ raised and eyebrow she realized that she had said that last part out loud and she blushed instantly.

Graciously, RJ didn't comment on that; but kept a smile on his face.

"If you would like, maybe we can go out to a seafood place and see a movie, or just go out to the lake for a swim and maybe picnic?" he asked hopefully.

"RJ, you don't need to do this to thank me. I love Adriana and I enjoy taking care of her."

"I don't need to…but I want to. If you'll let me."

A few awkward minutes seemed to tick by as lily considered her answer. She'd never been on a date before. The lunch dates with Theo were one thing. This was totally different.

"Um sure, why not."

The grin on RJ's face was bright. "Excellent! Let me know where you want to go! Then he flushed. "Um. Good night Lily. Sleep well." and then he was gone.

Lily chuckled. _He was so adorable when he got all shy like that._ It was one of the many things she liked about him. With one last look at the bed where Adriana slept, she herself fell asleep.

* * *

**Okay, so what did you think of all that? please leave a review! **

**Also, I have a new trailer video up on youtube for Christmas at Snowy Hills Resort as well as a yahoo group where I have and will be archiving all the PR fan fiction that is not suitable for this site. The links are on my profile, check them out if you want!**

**See you next chapter!**


	6. The Mission

**Hey everyone! Let's take a break from RJ, Lily, and Adriana and follow Theo and Master Swoop on their mission to save Jade. This is a darker chapter then I would usualy put in here. please bare with me.**

**Any flaming reviews will be answered with viscious sarcasm.**

* * *

Theo stared at the sign in front of the towering building and then looked at Master Swoop.

"This is the asylum? It looks like a prison! Why would they keep her here?"

"Because only the worst cases are kept here. Her animal spirit has taken her over and made her a dangerous person. Let's go visit her and see what needs to be done to get her out of here."

They walked a few steps before the towering Pai Zhug master turned around. "Remember Theo, this place is full of mental patients. Don't look anyone in the eye and speak to no one. I am going to pass myself off as her grandfather and you are going to act as my eyes."

"But master, you don't need your eyes to see."

Master Swoop reached into his trench coat and pulled out a white cane with red markings.

"They don't know that. I have to keep up appearances. Just go along with it. And all will be well. Now come on."

Theo's mind was full of questions but he kept is peace as they resumed walking and made their way up into the main office.

The lady at the admission's desk looked up as they approached.

"Good afternoon gentlemen, how can I help you?"

"Hello, I am Magus Swoop. You are keeping my granddaughter Jade here. I have come to get her out of this place."

The woman looked up at him. "And who is this young man?"

Master Swoop smiled. "This is Theo Martin. Her boyfriend. He insisted on coming with me. He's been worried sick about her since she went missing."

Theo fought to hide his shock at the master's words but he had to go along with it. The woman looked at him questioningly. "I can't bare to be without her. I've missed her terribly!" he said pumping worry into his voice.

"I'll need to see some ID's."

They handed the lady their ID's. "Very well, let me call the doctor in charge of her. Please have a seat."

"Thank you." he said giving her a polite smile and they took their seats.

A few minutes later a man in a white lab coat came to see them.

"I'm Dr. Schmitt and I am in charge of the patient. Follow me."

As they walked down the hallways Theo kept my Master Swoops side struggling to control himself. Even now, his animal spirit was getting more and more agitated. He could sense the ocelot spirit that Jada held. It was in a lot of pain and crying out for help.

He looked up at the blind master to see him keeping a straight face.

_How can he be so calm?_

"We keep her down here in seclusion so she can't cause anyone or herself any harm. She is the most fascinating case I've ever seen."

He led them into a room with a one way window and offered them some seats. On the other side of the window a young woman no older then Theo lay sleeping on her bed. Her gown was soiled with excretion and there even seemed to be some dried blood on the back of her gown.

And there pacing around the room was the ghostly purple form of a jungle cat.

Theo turned to the doctor. "Why hasn't anyone bothered to clean her up? She's a mess! Is this how you take care of your patients?"

The doctor gave him an annoyed look. "No one can get near her and the orderlies are too afraid of the ghost to enter her room. When the cat isn't pacing the room it goes inside her and she becomes a wild woman, untamed and extremely dangerous. We can't risk anyone getting hurt. We'd be sued for sure. If we can't find a cure for her, we will have to humanely put her out of her misery."

Master Swoop looked down at his lap. He knew what was coming. It was the reason he passed Theo off as her boyfriend.

"Euthanasia!" he said turning on the doctor. "You can't find a cure for her so you kill her?"

"We can't risk-"

"That is not acceptable! Just cause no one here has the guts to go in there and care for her is not a reason to put her down like a common stray!"

"Now, you wait just one moment."

"I will not allow her to be treated like that!"

"Unless you have the balls to go in there and clean her up-"

"Fine! Give me some fresh clothing and a rag and I'll go in there and clean her up."

"I cannot allow that."

"Then sign her over to me." Master Swoop said softly. "I'll take full responsibility for my granddaughter. If she harms anybody then I will take the blame and you will not be responsible for her."

"She's too-"

Master Swoop had had enough and he stood up to his full height. "I'll not take 'no' for an answer! My granddaughter is not being cared for properly. And I sure as hell hope that you don't treat you're other patients this way. I can take her to our own specialist and have her back to normal in no time. Now stop being an asshole sign her over to me!"

The doctor looked exasperated. He went over to the intercom and called for the intake office to bring her belongings and her release papers down to him then he turned back to the fuming boyfriend and handed him the key card. "There's a closet in the corner. Everything you need is in there."

Theo nodded curtly and after gathering everything he needed, he used the key card and opened the door.

The room was dimly lit and the second he walked in the cat spirit attacked him only to be met by the blue jaguar spirit that kept it at bay.

The same second the girl woke up. She crouched on the bed and glared menacingly at him.

"Easy Jade." Theo said in a calm voice. "I'm here to get you out of here. I promise I won't hurt you."

Jada snarled at him quietly as he slowly walked towards her. She bared her teeth.

"I don't know what happened to you. But I want to take care of you."

All the while that was going on the two jungle cats were communicating in soft growls and were pacing around each other. Then the ocelot spirit growled and slowly walked back to Jade and vanished. Jade collapsed on the bed.

And then she was crying softly. Theo felt his heart twist for his rival and he made quick work of her gown and hurriedly cleaned her up trying not to look at he naked body for too long. But he couldn't help but notice the large blood stain on the cot and saw stains of it on her inner thigh. He grimaced and hurried to clean it all up. She was so thin and there were dark circles under her eyes and many brusies all over her.

Then Master Swoop was at his side, handing him her pants which were stained and torn in many places. "They're not fit for her to wear." Theo said examining her top which was not much better.

"Its better then the hospital gown." Master Swoop answered quietly as Theo buttoned up her jeans and put her sandals on. "Let's hurry up and get her out of here and back to the school. If anyone can help her its Dr. Hawkins."

* * *

Once they got to the school, they took her right to the infirmary where Dr. Hawkins was waiting for them, upon getting the message that they had gotten the student out of the asylum she had gotten a bed ready and stood by while Master Swoop carried her in. then, they walked out leaving her to take care of Jade.

Out in the hallway, Theo sat on a bench while Master Swoop went off to report to Master Mao and the rest of the elders. The blue Jungle Fury ranger was no stranger to long waits and so as the doctor did her job he turned inwards to go over the last few hours since he had left with his master on this mission.

He had been so hurt over Lily's rejection. But now, he found he didn't feel the pain anymore and he didn't know how that had happened. When he had heard that Jade had gone missing he wasn't really worried. He only wanted to get away from Lily and from the heart ache she had caused.

But seeing Jade so helpless awakened protective feelings in him that he'd forgotten existed. As he had cleaned her up he'd seen dark bruises that covered her body especially her stomach. He'd seen that cuts on her inner thigh that suggested she had been beaten up.

But what really got him was when his jaguar spirit had returned to him and revealed everything that the ocelot revealed.

_She is wounded and has been severely broken, and she is hurting, we must care for her. _Then the jaguar spoke no more but merged into his body again.

Jade.

The two of them had been rivals for as long as he could remember. Since their first week of training they had tried to outdo each other. Though he had beaten her more then once in training exercises, and she had done the same, the petite Asian girl had been the first girl he had recognized when puberty had hit him. With her long black braided hair and her sparkling green eyes he, like every other guy had fallen prey to her.

But none of them had dared approached her, she was far too fierce, she was so intent on her training that she never paid them any mind.

Then a new recruit had shown up by the name of Michael. He had put up a façade of being a dutiful recruit and more then one teacher had praised him and complimented him and his skills grew and grew and even got the attention of Jada whom he soon began showing an interest in. They had been caught making out on more then one occasion and her interest began slacking in her training. And then one day, they were gone. They had been declared AWOL and hadn't been seen since.

The girl that lay in the infirmary was vastly different then the strong woman that had been his rival. It made him angry that she had been broken so. And the jaguar spirit stirred within him desiring revenge and even demanding it. But he stilled it, focusing instead on where is heart lay.

With an gasp he lifted his head a second later. The place where he had enshrined the spirit of the cheetah, now enshrined an ocelot.

"How is she?" asked a deep voice. He realized that Master Swoop had returned and now spoke with the infirmary doctor.

"She has sustained substantial vaginal damage. And the brusies all over her stomach are not normal, they look as if they were damaged by a belt buckle. And…" The nurse swallowed. As I was examining her, she bled again and among the blood was an embryo hand.

Theo was dumbstruck.

Master Swoop nodded solemnly. "I will inform the council. What can be done for her?

"We need to take her somewhere that she can be cared for. Somewhere private. She'll need surgery, to extract the rest of the…embryo and some serious counseling. Her spirit is broken. She's gonna need a lot of care and personalized attention."

"And where would that be?"

Theo looked up. "Master Swoop, I have an idea."

* * *

**I hope I haven't lost any readers becuase of this chapter. I wanted to help soothe Theo's wounds by giving him something else to focus on.** **See you next chapter!**


	7. A Late Night Visit

**Here we go again. Writer's block sucks but I'm back in business now. **

**Please leave a review! **

* * *

"_We need to take her somewhere that she can be cared for. Somewhere private. She'll need surgery, to extract the rest of the…embryo and some serious counseling. Her spirit is broken. She's gonna need a lot of care and personalized attention."_

"_And where would that be?"_

_Theo looked up. "Master Swoop, I have an idea."_

* * *

"This is the Pai Zhuq school." RJ said as they got the gate. "I've not been here in years."

Theo had been nervous as he'd approached the Ninjetti with his request for help. But to his surprise, they'd agreed and now all of them stood at the entrance to the Pai Zhuq school.

"This is where you went to school?" Asked Adrianna from her perch on Lily's back. "Sure is." Lily answered. "We trained here. Even your dad."

"You too Daddy?"

"You bet Cub. This is where I earned my master's stripes."

"Will I train here too?"

RJ approached his daughter, took her from Lily's back and held her close. "Only if you want to... but not for many years. I've barely gotten you back. You're not going anywhere for a while."

"I don't want Lily to go no where either."

Theo turned his head and looked at RJ and then lily but to everyone's surprise he didn't look angry or betrayed. He just smiled at the little girl and then turned back to the entrance and walked through.

Lily ran a hand through Adriana's soft curls and kissed her forehead. "I'll stay around as long as you want me too."

"I want you to stay fo'ever."

Lily chuckled at the little cub. "Okay. I'll stay."

RJ chuckled as Adriana climbed on to his back and followed the blue ranger through the gate.

They walked in silence as they neared the infirmary. Master Swoop came out to see them. "I'm glad you made it back. Jade isn't doing so well."

Tyler took Terra's hand in his and approached the blind master and bowed in respect to him. "I'm Tyler and this is my wife Terra. I don't know how much we can help when there's only two of us. But we will do what we can."

The bat master smiled at them gratefully before leading them into the room.

Even though Terra expected something like this, she was still surprised. Once again the spirit of the ocelot was prowling protectively around the bed and then growled at them as they entered.

Tyler reacted first and put a protective arm around her and allowed his spirit animal to come out. The chameleon walked up to the great cat and seemed to commune with it. Terra felt warmth and copied her husband letting her green falcon come out as well. It flew and came to rest next to the chameleon.

She stood at one side of the bed and her husband stood on the other side of the bed. He held out his hand for her. He held her hands tightly and looked into her eyes.

"Concentrate."

Terra felt slightly annoyed at his reminder but shoved it aside, the young student needed her attention and so she let her eyelids fall closed. Then she directed her inner power towards her husband who was now doing the same.

Theo watched in amazement as the green energy surrounded Jade and flowed into her.

* * *

In the meditation chamber on the other side of the school, Camille's head shot up and she looked at her counterpart. Jarrod's brow was furrowed in concentration. She had sensed…a kindred spirit. _Another chameleon? _She got up from her mat and started out the door.

"Camille?"

She turned around to face the man who had been more of a lover to her then Dai Shi could ever be. "Yes?"

"Where are you going?"

"I felt…another chameleon. Just a second ago. Its so strange. I didn't know anyone else here possessed a spirit like mine."

Jarrod got up a second later and drew her into his arms. "If it makes you happy, lets go." then he put an arm around her and they walked off with his girlfriend leading the way.

* * *

Terra dropped her arms with little beads of sweat dripping down her face. "I…I can't do anymore, I just don't have it in me."

Tyler opened his eyes and regarded her for a moment smiling softly at her as he used a nearby towel to sponge her face. "You did the best you could. If this doesn't work we can always call the others in."

"That won't be necessary. She's already starting to wake up." said Dr. Hawkins walking over to the bed to check Jade's vitals. The color's already returning to her face. She's not nearly so pale as she was." The dr. stood up to her full height again. "Thank you."

Tyler smiled at the elderly lady. "Don't mention it…please."

At the doctor's confused look Terra spoke up. "Tyler's just not comfortable with huge amounts of attention. If anyone else found out about our power we could be swarmed. And I don't know if he could handle that or not. In fact, it may be better if she didn't even know we were here."

Dr. Hawkins nodded understandingly. "If you don't want her to know you're here, now would be a good time to leave." That's all Tyler needed to know, and then just like that he led his wife out the door.

Terra stopped short when she saw the pair coming towards them. She could sense the same sort of power coming from them and she looked at her husband biting her lip. He smiled down at her. "It's okay, I sense another, like myself."

The tall man in…strange pajamas walked over to them. "Hi. I'm Jarrod. This is Camille."

"You're the one. You hold the Chameleon sprit." Camille said looking at him.

Tyler squeezed his wife's hand. "Yes. I'm Tyler Park, and this is my wife Terra, We're Ninjetti. You also hold a chameleon spirit."

"How is that possible? I didn't think anyone else had it."

"I wasn't expecting to have that animal spirit. When I discovered I was Ninjetti, I was expecting to have the frog spirit like my dad, but when my power was activated, I discovered that I was a chameleon."

"You're not the first son to not take after his father." said a new voice from behind them. RJ turned also and froze when he saw his dad walk up to them. Adrianna hid behind him ducking her head on his back. He wasn't planning for his dad to find out so soon.

"Dad. Long time no see."

"Yeah, its amazing how much can change in only a week." he said craning his neck. "Whose cub is that hiding behind your back?"

"Mine. She's my cub." RJ turned his head. "Its okay Adriana. He's my dad." Master Finn watched curiously as the little cub held out her arms for Lily who promptly took her into her arms and held her close.

"And why exactly did you hide her from me?"

"If you don't mind dad, I would feel better if I could discuss things with you in private."

Master Finn sighed. "Very well, we'll go into my quarters. But I expect you tell me everything."

* * *

When they got to his room, RJ's dad sat down on the bed and looked at his son. "So, how did you come to have her?"

"It was about 1 year or so after we got into that fight. I was invited to a weekend party of the man who gave me the loan for JKP. I didn't want to lose the money so I agreed to go. While I was there, I was offered some drinks but you know me and I can't really tolerate a lot of alchohol, so I declined. Then this beautiful woman offered me some punch. She was very sexy looking and I couldn't help but accept the cup."

"When I woke up the next morning naked and alone, I realized what I had done. The punch had been spiked with some hard liquor of some kind. I had gotten drunk and had ended up having sex with her and I woke up alone. I kept waiting for her to show up again or a call or something. But nothing happened. The next night I saw her hanging over some other dude. I found a reason to get out of there as soon as possible. I didn't see her again until 3 years later when she showed up claiming to have had my child."

"And did you at least get a paternity test?"

"Of course I did. But I took them to a doctor I trusted and had the test done. Adriana's DNA and mine are a perfect match. She's my daughter. I knew what sort of woman she was and immediately demanded custody not wanting my cub exposed to the sort of attention she gets. So we made an agreement that I would pay her a thousand dollars a month plus any doctor bills if she would go strait and devote her time to our daughter."

"She agreed. I still didn't feel right just leaving it at that. So I asked Master Swoop to keep an eye on things when I couldn't." RJ took a deep breath. "Then last year I discovered that Angel had broken her word and was back to sleeping with many different men and even some women here or there. I was just about to start the paperwork to get custody when Dai Shi was released. I knew then that I wouldn't be able to take her back. So I kept my peace and focused on training the rangers sent to me. I took small sabbaticals from time to time to go check on her."

"Last week Angel came back with Adriana and abandoned her saying some very wrong things about her, things that a little girl should never have to hear. I didn't find out until the next day what sort of things she's had to endure."

Master Fin was gritting his teeth in anger. "And what sort of things may those be?"

"I haven't been able to get much out of Adriana but I suspect it may be more then just psychological abuse. The next day, I went out and bought her some clothes and a hair brush. All I did was show her the hair brush and she got upset. When I asked her if she'd ever been hit with one she would only give out one word answers."

"She's still afraid that Angel's gonna find out and hurt her some more." his dad summed up.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how to help her. Lily's also doing her best. She's been just like a protective mother. Adriana has been clinging to her since the night she was abandoned."

"This is the first time you've mentioned Lily. I didn't know you had a thing for her."

"I've liked her for a long time. But she was off limits to me because she was my student and because Theo had a thing for her. I didn't want to step on his toes."

"Did you even bother finding out if she felt the same way?"

"I didn't realize until the day before yesterday that she even felt anything for me. Adriana's been sleeping in lily's room. I went in there to put Adriana to bed. That's when I discovered her feelings for me. There were tiny bits of my color there. A pillow here, a shirt there, a poster of a wolf on her wall."

"And what are you gonna do about that? You planning to court her?"

RJ hated it when his dad was so direct.

"Yeah, Adriana's even come right out and said that she wants Lily for a mom. More then once. I have asked Lily out on a date, what sort of things she would like to do. She's just as green as I am when it comes to this sort of thing."

The shark master chuckled. "My son you have a lot to learn. But first I want to meet my granddaughter."

* * *

Lily had taken Adriana on a tour of the school grounds. Everyone had been so nice to her. And they all wore the same shoes she had wanted that day she went shopping with her dad and Lily. Would she dare ask for a pair of shoes like that again?

"There's my little cub!" RJ said coming up to them with the old man walking behind them.

"Hello cub. I'm your grandpa. I heard you wanted some shoes like Lily has."

The little girl gawked in disbelief. "Was she really going to get her wish?" she nodded with a hopeful look in her eyes. The older man who was now her grandpa brought his hand out from behind his back. And there, in his hands were a pair of shoes, identical to Lily's. If you get down here, I'll help you put them on."

That was the hitch in the plan. She had to trust this man she just met in order to get the shoes. She looked at Lily who nodded. Then she looked at her dad who smiled at her. "You can trust him. He's your grandpa."

"I promise I won't hurt you." Master Finn said in a soft voice.

"That's what he said." Adriana muttered softly.

"Who said?" master Finn asked softly.

"Michael." Angel's boyfriend.

Master Finn took a deep breath trying to control his rage as RJ held his daughter close. "I promise he won't hurt you. But you don't have to if your scared."

"But I won't get the shoes." The little girl said softly.

Master Finns heart ripped for the little girl. He walked forward slowly and gently stroked his granddaughter's cheek before lightly kissing her forehead. "I'm not a monster like Michael was. I won't hurt you. You don't have to get down if you don't want to. You're my granddaughter. And there's no way I'm gonna let Michael or Angel hurt you again. They're not gonna get anywhere near you."

"Promise?" Adrianna said biting her lip.

"I'll let them hurt me before they ever hurt you. That's a promise."

Taking a deep breath Adriana stuck out her foot. Very gingerly Master Finn removed her sandals and put on her new shoes that fit her foot perfectly. She smiled at him and wiggled her foot around glancing at her shoe from all angles.

"How would you like to visit me? I have some ice cream. Your dad and lily, can come too."

Adriana's eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically.

Master finn grinned at her remembering a more innocent time when RJ had given him the same grin while his face was streaked with chocolate fudge from his fudge bar.

RJ grinned and kissed his daughters head. At the very least he'd have someone to watch his little cub when he and Lily had their date.

Suddenly the peaceful moment was interrupted by Tyler's cell phone.

He turned his back and answered it.

"Hey dad what's up?"

_**"I'm on my way to Ocean bluff. Andros is gonna shuttle me there in the morning."**_

"Dad, I didn't know you were coming just yet."

Adam chuckled. **_"I promise I'm not going to interfere with your honeymoon. I'm there to give Adriana her exam and to take care of some other business. Though I might like to see you two if you have the time."_**

"We should be able to pencil you in."

**_"Very funny son. See you in the morning."_**

"Bye dad."

"What was that all about?" asked Casey.

Tyler turned back to him. "My dad is coming to make a house call."

* * *

**How did you like this bit?**

**Let me know!**


	8. The House Call

**Here we go, a nice long chapter for you! **

**A word of warning: This chapter is dealing with the sensitive topic of child abuse. It may prove to be too much for some readers.**

* * *

Adam Park sat in the seat to Andros' right on the bridge of the mega cruiser as they approached a very secluded area about two blocks from his son and daughter in laws hotel.

"We're almost there." said 14 year old Tristan from his spot next to his father. "We'll be there in about 2 minutes." The young kerovian who was his father's son in every way had begged to come along and pilot the cruiser which was just a smaller version of the Astro Megaship. He wasn't old enough to pilot a cruiser on his own yet, but Andros was teaching him how to drive. He'd told Ashley that by the time their teen was old enough to get his permit he'd be the best driver in Angel Grove and the best pilot on KO-35."

Ashley had been a bit wary but had still allowed it. And so here they were hovering over the spot where Adam was going to depart on his mission to help a young student at the secret school and to make a house call to a fellow ranger's child. It was one of the perks of taking on the ranger mantel. Any of the ex rangers would be there to help if they could. And Adam Park was the only pediatrician in the ranger community and he was always willing to make house calls. Which was why he was here.

Andros turned to his friend. "How long do you think this will take?"

Adam shook his head. "As far as the little girl goes, I'm hoping this just be a house call. I really hope I'm only dealing with cuts and bruises. But as far as the Pai Zhuq student goes, I think that if its as serious enough to cause her animal spirit to come out in such a way, she may need to return with us for some one on one therapy at 'the cabin'. Were you planning to stick around?"

Tristan gave his dad a hopeful look. Andros grinned at his son before returning to his conversation with the former ranger. We're packed for the weekend, we'll stick around for three days. If it takes longer then that we'll need to return home. I don't like to be without Ashley that long."

Adam nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean. I'll contact you when I know for sure what's gonna happen. But you may want to get the cot ready just in case."

The red space ranger nodded. "We'll be ready. Tristan and I are here for a father son bonding weekend. I let him choose the place and in return he has to listen to all my lectures."

Tristan groaned hearing this. He had heard his parents talking about giving 'the talk' to him though he didn't really get what the talk was about.

I was surprised he didn't choose 'Universal Studios' over coming here."

Adam chuckled and flipped open his cell phone and pressed the speed dial for his son's phone.

It rang several times before his son answered. He sounded a little groggy.

"Mmm..hello?"

"Up and at 'em sunshine. I'm here!"

"_**Dad, why couldn't you call me later? Me and Terra are on our honeymoon!"**_

Adam grinned. "Yeah, but I thought you two love birds might want to join me for breakfast. I'll let you buy!"

Andros was doing his best to hold in his laughter. He looked at his teenager who was just rolling his eyes.

"Great! I'll be waiting in the lobby for you!"

_**Mmm…yeah, just let us get our shower. It shouldn't take too long.**_

"Ok and no hanky panky!"

"_**If my wife and I want to have a little 'quickie' while we take a shower that's our business!"**_

"Maybe, but I'm not gonna stay this young forever!"

"_**Dad you left behind your youth a long time ago!"**_

"Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, you'll never get your recommendation for your medical school training if you keep talking, just go get your shower. The first rule to being an awesome doctor like me is to be early for everything especially house calls."

Tyler snorted. And then spoke to terra in the background. _**"We gotta get up Princess, Dad's here. He said we can't have any sex in the shower. **_They were quiet for a moment and then Tyler let out a low moan.

Adam raised an eyebrow. Tyler took a deep breath. _**"Um dad. We'll meet you in the lobby in about 10 minutes. Bye."**_ then the line went dead.

Adam chuckled. "Grifforzor could come back and destroy the world and those two wouldn't know about it."

* * *

**One hour later**

Tyler and Terra came down to the lobby to see their dad waiting for them.

"Hi dad." Tyler said cheerfully.

Adam nodded noncommittally and looked at his watch.

Terra smiled sheepishly at her husband. But Tyler was all about being a husband now and the man of his household.

"Honestly Dad, we're on our honeymoon. What exactly did you expect?"

Adam gave them a stern look which broke a moment later into a teasing smile. "Nothing really, your mom and I were worse on our honeymoon, we didn't answer the phone at all."

"Dad, I really don't need that picture in my head."

"Lets get going. I'm starving.

* * *

Master Finn paced the loft. RJ and told him about the 'ranger doctor' coming to give the exam. It didn't take long for the Shark Master to become a worried grandfather. He'd walked in the door 30 minutes later.

"What kind of doctor is this guy anyway? What kind of exam is he doing on my granddaughter?"

"Dr. Park is a pediatrician as well as a former ranger. He runs a pediatric clinic for families with low income and used to be a nurse at the Angel Grove Children's shelter. From what Tyler told me, he comes very highly recommended."

"He's the main pediatrician in the ranger community, When I told him my situation, he called in a favor from his friend Andros, the red space ranger. He set aside this weekend to come and give an exam to Adriana, to make absolutely sure that she…" He paused to make sure that Adriana was still in Lily's room. "That she only suffered cuts and bruises, and not something worse.

Fury blazed in master Finn's eyes. "It better not even be that. If I find that the witch hurt her at all, there'll be the hell to pay."

RJ nodded in agreement and was about to say something when Casey suddenly appeared in the loft. "Dr. Park is here. He said he'd like to a have a few words with you before he meets Adriana."

The masters shared a look before following Casey down the stairs.

The man who had just walked in gave them all a smile. "Hi, I'm Dr. Park."

The three of them gave him a once over. He was not what they expected at all. Adam stood there looking completely at ease. He was wearing a black Hawaiian style shirt that was covered in many different colored tree frogs that was hanging open over a green t-shirt. He wore a pair of beige khaki pants. A pair of black running shoes completed the outfit.

Master Finn surmised that he must be in his mid to late thirty's. The only evidence that he was a doctor was the stethoscope he wore around his neck. On his back was a one strap back pack.

"You don't look like a doctor." stated the shark master after a moment of strained silence.

Adam chuckled. "I get that a lot. When I do examinations such as this one, I do everything I can to put the child at ease. From my experience I know that children who are victims of abuse come to see me already scared to death. I find dressing like this helps ease their nerves. It makes the examination easier on the child.

RJ liked him already. "I'm RJ, Adriana's my daughter." he siad holding out his hand. As adam shook his hand Master Finn spoke up again. "I'm Master Finn. Adriana's my granddaughter." Adam still looking completely at ease bowed his head to him in respect.

"You can just call me Adam. I know that you're worried about Adriana and what I might find when I give the examination. I'm sure you probably want to get it over with as fast as possible."

Casey took that as his que to exit. "I'm off to the dojo now. My class starts in an hour." then he was gone.

When he was gone, Adam took on a more serious look. "I wanted to have a word with you before I meet Adriana."

"I'm all ears." RJ's said motioning him over to an empty table. When they were all seated, adam spoke again in a serious tone.

"Before I examine her, I need you to know that I am legally obligated to report any evidence of abuse that I see. I'm gonna keep a record and I can give you a copy of the report in case you want to take the offender to court. If I don't, it could cost me my license."

"I don't know if I'm gonna take her to court or not. If it's more then bruises, then I will. I'm just relieved to have her safe with me. I have no idea what she's been through other then the bruises I've already found. She also mentioned that someone named Michael hurt her. What worries me is that the name of the man that attacked Jade, the pai zhug student is also named Michael. They may be connected."

Adam sighed closing his eyes for a moment. "It wouldn't be the first time. Our first pink ranger and the daughter of one of my closest friends were also victims of the same man. Just in different way. I pray to God this isn't the same situation."

"How are you going to go about the exam? What are you looking for?" Master Finn asked.

Adam looked at him sighing again. I've been a pediatrician for years. During my time at the children's shelter, had to do many exams. A lot of the children that came into see me where taken out of abusive situations…it ranged from simple verbal abuse, to physical abuse…to even sexual abuse.

With all the exposure to victimized children, I learned the difference between a bruise sustained in a fall, and a bruise sustained from a beating…and even the more subtle signs of…being raped."

"I know what to look for."

Master Finn looked at him with new found respect. "It must be a heavy burden for you take on."

Adam nodded.

"Before long, the courts recognized the accuracy of my exams and began sending children for me to exam for evidence against abusive parents and guardians and friends. I hate being right….the only consolation I get is the knowledge the I got the worst of the worst off the street and behind bars where they belong."

The words hung heavy between them. The moment was broken when Lily appeared on the stairs, signaling that Adriana was ready more or less for the exam.

Putting his smile back on, Adam followed them up to the loft.

* * *

Adrianna was sitting in her dad's chair Indian style with her stuffed wolf clutched tighly to her chest. She looked up at Adam with a look of fear.

It was a look the pediatrician had seen too often. He took a deep breath. "Hi adrianna. My name's Adam. How are you today?"

She looked at him warily and she clutched the wolf she was holding tighter, still not speaking a word.

Adam smiled kindly. Then noticed the stuffed animal in her arms. "That's a nice wolf you have there. I have one too she's at home right now. Her names' Luna. Does yours have a name?"

"Sasha." she said softly. "Daddy gave her to me."

Adam smiled at her. That's awesome.

_Down to business._

Well, I'm the doctor your daddy called to exam you. He wants to make sure your not hurt anywhere. You can hold on to Sasha while I take a look at you okay?"

"I cut my knee yesterday. It hurt a lot." she said softly.

Adam took the stethescope from around his neck and put the ear buds in his ears.

I bet it did. When I was your age I cut my knees and scraped them a lot. I know what it feels like…" he smiled at her again. "Can I listen to your heart?"

Adrianna bit her lip and looked at her dad. "Its okay cub, he's not gonna hurt you."

The little cub took a deep breath and put her hands that still clutched the wolf in her lap.

"Thank you." adam said as he slowly placed the other end of the stethescope on her chest. "Just keep breathing."

He took a few seconds to listen before withdrawing the chestpiece

"Very good." he said as he moved closer. "Would you please sit forward so I can listen to your lungs?"

After another second of hesitation she leaned forward and let him listen to her back and breathed deeply when he asked her to.

"Your lungs sound really good." he said as she sat back in the chair.

"And my heart?" she asked softly.

Adam grinned. "Perfect."

Then he reached into his bag and pulled out a manual blood pressure cuff which was a light pink color.

"Can you hold out your arm for me?" when she did he slipped the cuff on her. "This is gonna get pretty tight but I promise it won't last long." when she nodded he began to check her blood pressure. She bit her lip when it got tight but she bravely didn't say a word.

When it was over she rubbed her arm.

"Yeah, I know it feels weird. I hate having my blood pressure done too. But even I have get it checked sometimes."

The exam went on for several minutes. And with each moment, Adrianna relaxed more and more. Things were progressing well.

Finally adam sat back on his hunches.

He took a deep breath.

"Adriana, do you have any bruises or cuts other then the one you got the other day?"

The little girl suddenly looked afraid again and she looked at Lily biting her lip.

Adam sensed that his question was answered.

Lily spoke up. "Yes, I saw them the first time I gave her a bath. They're everywhere."

_I thought so. Time for a different approach._

Adam nodded and looked at Adrianna again. "Your being a very brave girl right now. That's something to be proud of." he paused again. "I'm going to ask you some questions and I need you to answer them so I can help you. If you want your dad or Lily to hold you that's fine too. What ever makes you feel safe."

She immediately looked at Lily again and the yellow cheetah ranger took the cue and picked the cub up and held her on her lap. Immediately the little girl relaxed.

_Good. That's what I wanted._

He reached into his bag and pulled out a note book and a pen before sitting on the couch across from them.

He smiled at the little girl again.

"Before you came here…when you lived with your mom, what did you get to eat?"

The little girl was quiet for a moment.

"Salads."

By now adam was used to hearing this, so he pressed on.

"And fruits?"

Adrianna nodded slowly.

"Did you ever get to go out to eat? Like to Burger King or McDonalds?"

"No, she said it would make me fat if I ate there. I couldn't win the pageant and make money if I was fat."

Adam bit his lip and hurried to control his emotions. He took a deep breath and continued.

"She didn't let you have chocolate or ice cream either did she."

He didn't need to see her head shake to know the answer. He'd seen this before.

"What happened if you won the pageant? Were you rewarded?"

Adriana shook her head. "If I was a good girl and won the pageant Mommy didn't get mad at me."

Adam looked up from his notebook. "I see." this next part was the part he hated.

He worked to keep his voice casual "And what happened if you didn't win?"

Silence.

He looked up seeing a scared little girl.

The silence told him everything.

He put his notebook down into his bag again and knelt down in front of the chair again.

"Adriana would you look at me again."

Another moment passed. Then the little girl met his eyes again.

Its your mommy and daddy's job to take care of you and protect you. You're not supposed to be scared of them. If your scared of your mom then she's not doing her job. And that's wrong. If she hurt you then that's also wrong. And she needs to be punished for it.

"But mommy will be mad if I tell and she'll beat me again…like she did with the hairbrush…I don't want to…" she paused realizing what she'd just done looking fearfully at adam again.

Adam grimaced…damn…he was afraid of that. All he could do was let things progress.

"Look at your daddy." she obeyed to see him looking at her with concern.

"Now look at your grandpa." she did to see him giving her the same sort of look.

"Now look at Lily." she looked at lily who kissed her cheek lovingly and hugged her close.

"Now look at me."

When she did this he gave her a kind smile. "They all love you very much and have the power to protect you. It would be a very, very bad idea for your mom to come here.

"What about Michael? He'd hurt me again if I told you anything!" she burst out again.

_There it was. What he'd been fishing for._

He took a deep breathing keeping himself calm. She was starting to tear up.

Shh…it's okay. I want you to take several deep breaths for me…like this. He demonstrated and she copied him, for several minutes all they did was breathe…

When she had calmed down he continued. "It's okay Adriana. You're a very brave girl to tell me. I'm proud of you." he reached into his bag and pulled out a heart shaped piece of candy and handed it to her.

Its choclate. It'll make you feel better. Then we can talk some more ok?"

The little girl nodded and began to eat the candy.

Adam sat back on the couch again and began to write more stuff down.

Several minutes passed. Then Lily was talking softly to the cub in her lap. "I'm proud of you little one. Telling adam everything can keep angel and michel from coming here again.

"But what will I do without a mommy? She won't love me anymore?"

Adam smiled softly over his notebook. There was always a reason to his methods. He'd taken the break to let her family soothe her.

"Then I'll be your mommy. I already love you more then Angel ever did. If she or Michael come here after you then we'll fight them off. She's not coming near you again."

"But what about daddy?"

"What about me cub?" asked RJ kneeling down next to her.

Mommies and Daddies are supposed to love each other. And get married."

Adam worked to keep the laugh from coming out. This was what he liked about his job.

"Do you love Lily?" she asked him.

RJ blushed pink.

Adam grinned. _Kids say the darndest things._

"Well, I like lily a lot. I want her to be your mommy, but cub these things take time. We can't go rushing into this."

"Lily, do you love daddy?"

"Yes, I suppose I do. But your daddy's right. If we are gonna be a real mommy and daddy, we need time to really get to know each other. Then maybe when Angel and Micheal are in jail, we can work on getting married. If that's what your daddy wants."

"How long will that take?"

Well, that cub depends on you. In order to get rid of Angel and Michael you need to tell Adam everything that happened to you…even though its hard. He's gonna tell the police and then they'll go get angel and Michael.

"And you and lily?"

RJ leaned over and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "you leave that to us. It may take a while. Can you be patient?"

"Yes."

"Good girl. Now, are you ready to tell Adam everything?" asked Master Finn who had been in much the same state that the frog ranger had been in.

Seeing his son and Lily squirm did much to lift his spirits as much as it lifted the heavy tension in the room.

"Ok. I'll tell him everything."

Adam looked up. "That's wonderful. Shall we get started?"

* * *

An hour later a sleepy little girl was led up to her bed for a nap by Lily who was still blushing a little bit. She had not been expecting the question to be posed to her just yet.

But she kept her cool.

When she put the little one down and tucked her in for a nap, Adriana sat up and curled her arms around the yellow cheetah ranger.

"I love you mommy."

Lily grinned and kissed her forehead. "I love you too cub. Now get some rest. If you want you can help out in the restaurant later. Your daddy may need help in the kitchen okay?"

"Okay."

"That's my girl now get some rest."

"Okay Momma." Then she yawned and fell asleep.

Lily sat back on her bed and put her head in her hands. She closed her eyes when she felt the bed sink next to her. She looked up to see RJ sitting next to her…he still hadn't looked her in the eye since she declared her feelings for her.

"We might as well get over this awkward moment so we can get on with the rest of the day."

Lily nodded in agreement. "Easier said then done."

Then she lowered her eyes again and then in the next second she felt a finger under her chin. Her breath caught in her throat when she found RJ's eyes looking into hers.

"I think the first step was already taken. It takes guts to admit your feelings…especially in public. I've always admired your willingness to but your neck out there not knowing the outcome.

"That night when all of this started, I saw the way you reacted when Angel started up her trouble. The way you defended my…our cub was just like a mother cat, defending her cub at all costs."

"And what's the second step?"

"This." he said leaning forward and placing a kiss on her forehead. Its hard to speak my feelings. I do better showing them." he added at her confusion. Dad's keeping Adam occupied. He's already offered to watch Adriana tomorrow night, so we can go on that date we talked about going on a few days ago.

I can't wait to get to know you…I only know you as Lily my student…I want to get to know you as Lily…the woman I know you are."

As he said this a special warmth spread into Lily's heart and she smiled softly at him. I'd like that."

* * *

As they headed down to get the pizza parlor ready for business, Master Finn led the good doctor to the Pai Zhug school to look in on a young student who needed his help.

* * *

**Well there you go, there's some Lily/RJ romance for all of you.**

**See you next chapter!**


	9. Jada

**Before you read, I would like to apoligize for the lull in chapters. I've had no internet for the past three weeks. (imagine the withdrawl I had to go through!)**

**please leave reviews!**

* * *

As Master Finn led Dr. Adam Park to the school, they spoke of what they had discovered.

Adriana had not been raped though some bruising and even slight evidence of some bruising on her inner thigh very close to her privates had indicated that rape had been attempted but had not succeeded. He was greatly relieved…all of them were.

But now, they were arriving at the gates of the Pai Zhug School where Adam had been told in advance what he was examining. Young Jada _had _been victimized. He was only there to gather medical evidence and maybe even send her to Angel Grove for some one-on-one therapy. Kimberly and her husband awaited word from him and had even gone so far as to prepare the cabin they had bought for her arrival.

This is Adam Park. He's a pediatrician former power ranger and holds the sprit of the frog. He's come to examine Jada." Adam bowed with respect to the master and then they were on their way again.

"Theo's barely left her side. He's taken to her rather quickly, even though she's his rival." Master Swoop was saying.

"You'd be surprised how protective a young man can feel towards a wounded and vulnerable woman."

"You speak from experience?"

"Unfortunately. We had to deal with a similar experience with the first pink ranger of earth, who was the heart of the team and one of my closest friends. We had a maniac after her and her children. Tommy wasn't even her boyfriend at the time we found out but it was amazing how quickly he took to caring for her. Her children came very close to being victims too. We were lucky that he was so easily taken care of. Demetrius left a lot of victims in his wake. We are well rid of him. When Tommy finally saw him in person and took him on, his rage was terrible."

"When the confrontation comes, you may want to keep Theo under guard. No telling how unstable he can become."

"You're expecting a confrontation?"

It's possible. I'm going to report my findings to the authorities. I expect that this Michael and maybe even Angel will be charged in Adriana's case and if Michael was the one who raped Jada, he will be tried as a criminal and I'm hoping that he will be off the streets for the rest of his life."

"You came." said a voice breaking into their conversation.

Adam looked up to see a young man he knew at once was Theo looking at him in interest. Then he realized who he was looking at and immediately bowed respectfully.

Adam returned the bow and then looked at the young man squarely. "I hope you've been keeping watch over Jada. How is she?"

"She's been sleeping a lot since the surgeon left. Her ocelot spirit still paces the room but it's not violent anymore."

Adam turned to the masters. "That's a promising start. If you guys will wait out here, I'm going to see to her."

They all bowed to him and then he walked into the infirmary.

It was a very clean place and he could smell the disinfectant and the cleanliness in the room. He was greeted by an older woman. She looked him over. "You're a doctor?"

Yes. I'm Dr. Adam Park. I just came from seeing young Adriana. I know I don't look like one but as I told everyone else, dressing like this makes my patients more at ease…especially victimized children.

"And how is the cub?"

She's going to be okay, she's still in tact but I don't know about her mind. She's surrounded by love and I'm hoping that she'll recover with her parents around her.

"Parents?"

"Yep. Lily and RJ. She specifically asked for Lily to be her mom. It was cute. But how's the student?"

Dr. Hawkins led him into a chamber in the back. As he expected, he saw the ghostly ocelot pacing the room. Adam felt a slight shiver as it came near him. But it sniffed him and sensing there was no danger it went back into the girl and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Jada, this is Dr. park. He's come to examine you."

He didn't miss the fear in her eyes as she cringed away from him. Adam grimaced. "You have the right to a chaperone. I'm sure Dr. Hawkins will be glad to stay in here with us."

When she relaxed a bit Adam sat in the chair and began to softly speak to her.

"I just came from a young cub. She was attacked too. She says the man who did it was named Michael. I need to know, is that the name of the man that attacked you?"

"A young cub…he spoke of that…I didn't think really did it."

That got Adam's attention. "Michael actually bragged about it?"

Jada looked shaken and Dr. Hawkins moved to comfort her. "It was when he found out I was pregnant. I tried to hide from him and change my looks. I even went to stay my parents. But still, he found me. He told me that my baby would never survive. That he could easily kill it. I told him that I would go to the Pai Zhug school and tell the masters. He said that if he could get to the daughter of a Pai Zhug master it would be nothing at all getting past the masters here."

Adam growled softly in his throat when he heard that. And then he took several deep breathes to calm himself.

And then what happened?

Jada looked scared and she trembled. "Are you going to tell the police?"

Adam took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm obligated by state law to report any signs of abuse. If it will make you feel safer, I can send you and Theo somewhere safe where he will never think to look."

It doesn't matter he will find me. He holds the spirit of the cobra. There's no where I can go that he won't find me."

"I have made arrangements to send you to a place that is under guard by my friends and one of them is a victim. I've spoken to her of your situation. Even if he does find you, he won't be able to get near you. And I can send you there before I go to the authorities. It's a place where you can go to get better. Like I said, Theo can go with you. But it is your choice."

She thought very long and hard. All the while Adam had pulled out his notebook and was writing down information. Finally, she looked up. "Okay, I'll go."

Adam smiled softly at her. "Awesome, shall we get started?"

Jada nodded. "It wasn't long ago. About a year or so. I've been a student here for many years and I was very intent on my studies. I know that a lot of the boys here were interested in me…especially Theo. But I knew that this was my last chance. I've been in martial arts since I was a child and I love it. My parents didn't want me to come here but I begged and pleaded with them to let me come and learn kung fu. Finally they agreed but if I didn't succeed here they would send me to prep school. I hated the idea of being around snobby rich girls and wearing those horrible school uniforms. It made me all the more determined to succeed.

"But then Michael showed up. He was so nice and we practiced together all the time. He made me feel so beautiful and worthwile." she paused wiping away a tear. "I fell in love with him. We got in trouble for all the public displays of affection and even the time we got caught in bed together.

Master Mao threatened to expell us if we didn't straiten up. Then I stopped seeing him. It lasted for all of a week, then he came to me and said that he couldn't be without me. That he wanted me with him. I'd been missing him too. And so, we ran away.

"We spent all that next week together and then he left me. I didn't see him anymore. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I went home. That's when I found out I was pregnant. They demanded to know who the father was. I told them and they hired some investigator to find him. He was furious with me when he found out and demanded I get an abortion. But I didn't want to. We fought over that for a while then out of the blue he told me that he would marry me, that we could elope. I was dazed and agreed. He took me to Vegas and then there, he took me to this friend of his and forced me to abort the baby at knife point."

A tear ran down her cheek and she started to cry. I was scared. But I allowed him to kill my baby. When I saw the body. I got upset and tried to leave. Michael forced me down but then she came out. My animal spirit. It kept them distracted long enough for me to grab my clothes and run.

He caught up to me and beat me down. When he stabbed me I went crazy and attacked him with everything I had. When he left me I crawled away and found some dark corner to hide in.

But he found me and reported me to the assylum. He kept me tied up until they came and took me away. I haven't heard from him since."

She bowed her head and cried softly.

Adam bit his lip feeling his heart break for her. But he took several deep breathes working to control himself.

"Thank you. You are very brave to tell me everything. Now, I just need to ask you a few more questions before I examine you. Then I'll be on my way so you can rest."

"What more do you need?"

I need a physical discription of the guy and then I'm going to examine you for physical evidence. I promise to be quick."

He's about 5'9 with blonde hair and blue eyes. He's white with a good build. His last name is Smith."

He should still be in the school records." Dr. Hawkins said as she stood up and pulled back the covers.

Adam hated the next question. "Do you have a specimen for the DNA analysis?"

"Its in the cooling unit. You can take it with you when you go."

"Thank you. Lets get this done and over with."

Then he knelt next to the bed and began to the exam.

* * *

-30 minutes later-

Adam came out looking a little pale but steady on his feet. He really felt like he may be sick. He'd already thrown up in the bathroom of the infirmary. He'd never been like this before. Seeing the specimen had made him sick to his stomach.

"Are you okay Dr. Park." asked Master Finn. Adam sat on a bench that theo had vacated and put his head between his legs working to retain his sensibilities. All the while the masters stood back waiting patiently as he went through several breathing and calming exercises. When at last he lifted his head, Master Swoop spoke up. "When you are ready, the masters are ready to see you."

Adam nodded stiffly and then got up and followed the bat master to the main building.

The room was small and comfortable with several seating areas and seats that were low to the ground. In the middle of the room on several small seats were some older people and one younger woman in her early 30s.

"Dr. Park, may I present Master Phant, Master Roo, Master Key and finally master Dillo. Masters, may I present Dr. Adam Park, a pediatrician. He holds the spirit of the frog and is a Ninjetti . He came here at my request and has now examined Jada. He has come to report his findings."

An older woman with a wiry build, brilliant white hair held in a bun by a couple hair sticks and blue eyes got up. "I'm master Kee. Please sit with us." Adam bowed to them with respect and then sat before them on the cushion and accepted the tea she offered him.

"And now, Dr. Park please tell us what you have found."

* * *

Theo sat on the bed gazing at the focus of his attentions. "How are you Jada?"

The young girl sighed. "I hated going back to those memories. I still can't believe that I let it all happen. After all the studying I did all that practice and it got me nowhere except pregnant. Now I'm a victim. A cowed wanna be warrior."

Theo grimaced. He really didn't know what to say. All he knew to do was go slowly. "Jada, the only mistake you made was trusting that guy. You're a wonderful fighter. It was one of the reasons I was drawn to you. All this that you're going through is just a temporary set back. With time and patience you'll get back to how you were before. Even better then what you were before you left."

She looked at him questioningly. "You really think so, we were rivals. Wouldn't this be the perfect time to prove that you're a better fighter then me?"

Theo took a deep breathe. "No, to use your vulnerability like this to prove myself is dishonorable. It would be the worse thing I could do. One day, when you're back on your feet and completely yourself we can go one on one and prove who's the better fighter. But not until then."

"Why do you stick around? Why did you come back for me?"

Theo sighed. "At first, I didn't come to help you. I'm still nursing my pride from Lily rejecting me. I asked her out and she turned me down. I was willing to do anything and go anywere to escape that."

It wasn't until I saw the conditions you were in that I wanted to help you. Master Swoop and I confronted the doctor in charge of you and he said that if I thought I could get passed your ocelot spirit then I could feel free to attend to you."

Jada blushed. "You saw everything." It was a statement and not a question.

Theo nodded. "I tried to give you some dignity by not staring at you when I cleaned you up. But I couldn't miss the fact that you are beautiful."

"And do you think now that I will fall in love with you now at your pretty words?"

Theo shrugged. "They weren't just words. I feel protective of you and you've given me reason to move on from my dejection. I want to help you heal from your injuries. I'm not ready for a girlfriend right now. Maybe later but right now, I want to help you get better. I can't bear to see a warrior like you beaten down. If love comes of this then I won't stop it. I won't take advantage of you. If you don't feel the same way, then I'll back off and leave you alone."

"You've really matured."

Theo chuckled softly. "Fighting Dai Shi can do that to a person."

* * *

Later that day, after being escorted back to JKP, Adam was treated to some nice hot and fresh meat lovers pizza and a tall glass of coca cola after being escorted to the loft.

Then RJ was seated in front of him. "So, what's the verdict?"

"It's the same guy. The same guy who went after your cub was the same guy who raped Jada and forced an abortion on her and damn near killed her. I've never seen a case where the animal spirit made a physical appearance like that."

"Normally when they come out, it's been called out by the one who possesses it. My wolf spirit has been called out during battles and it's the same for the rest of the Pai Zhug students once they learn to make contact with their animal spirit. It's very thrilling to experience for the first time."

"I would love to learn the technique. As soon as Jada's taken care of. I'm surprised that you aren't more violently angry."

"Don't think I'm not. I've learned to control my emotions. And if my daughter didn't need me as much as she does. I'd go after that woman and then Michael. It's taken a lot to not explode in rage."

Adam looked up at him after swallowing the last of his pizza and taking a sip from his drink. "How about a sparring session. Beating the mess out of each other may help us get our anger under control."

That's how they were found when Casey, Lily, Adriana and the twins came back. Both men were throwing all their knowledge and power into the fight and it wasn't long before Adam gave a cry of rage and a black tree frog came out and was met by a violet wolf.

Adriana was wide eyed as she watched them. Then when both men sat tiredly on the mat cooling down she ran up to her dad and crawled into his lap. "Daddy, what was that? Are there ghosts here?"

Lily chuckled as she sat down in front of her 'love interest'. "No, cub, that was your dad's animal spirit coming out. We all have an animal spirit inside us."

"I think mine's a pink wolf."

RJ looked at her. "You think so do you?"

She came out of me when that guy was trying to hurt me. He saw that and got scared. It scared Angel too. It's one of the reasons she didn't want me anymore. She called me a freak."

"Do you think you could call her?"

During this, all the other rangers had backed away sitting on the couch and at the table giving the family some privacy.

Adriana sat in front of her father and mother with her legs crossed and closed her eyes timidly and tried to find her wolf spirit. RJ and Lily watched her closely and very soon she got a smile on her lips. Then she opened her eyes. "I found her!"

"Good." RJ and Lily backed up giving her some room. Then RJ took a deep breath. "I call to the beast inside! Bring out the wolf!" the purple wolf came out and bounded to her and Adriana screamed and suddenly a small pink wolf came out and then stood defiantly in front of the cub. The violet wolf walked up to it and nuzzled it's neck before licking its face.

Adriana's eyes went wide as she watched her animal spirit. The spirit cub licked her father's wolf and then disappeared back into Adrianna. Then Lily was holding her tightly. I'm so proud of you!" she said before kissing her daughter's cheek.

"I am too my little wolf." RJ said joining the hug. He kissed his daughter too.

"We all are." Casey said coming to join them "in fact, how about we all go out for ice cream. I'll buy!"

RJ chuckled "Just what my daughter needs… more sugar."

"Please dad!" Adriana begged with a sweet smile and her hands folded as if to pray.

"Yeah dad, can we?" Casey mimicked with a twinkle in his eye.

RJ sighed. "Okay. Go get out of those uniforms and then we'll lock up and go to the Dairy Queen down at the corner. Oh And Casey?"

The red ranger turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

"She gets too hyper you're putting her to sleep."

"Once upon a time, Lily told me I'm more like a brother to her. That makes me Adriana's uncle. And everyone knows that it's the uncle's job to spoil the niece rotten and I'm not about to shirk that job. It you the parents who get to deal with her hyperactivity." then he was off to his room.

RJ sighed and looked at Lily. "I'm a marshmallow aren't I?"

Lily chuckled. Nah, we're celebrating our daughter's success on calling on her animal spirit. It a big step for her…even though I wish it hadn't been her almost rape that caused it to come out.

RJ kissed her forehead. "I know. But at least she had her animal spirit to protect her since I wasn't able to."

"RJ please don't dwell on that. I know how you men will brood over the things you can't change. We should be celebrating with our daughter. Now, I'm going to change and you should too." then she was gone too.

RJ chuckled and went to his room. When they were alone Adam touched the button his communicator. "Adam to Andros."

"This is Andros. You need me to come get you already?"

"No, but tomorrow the ocelot is coming with us. Can you be here by 10?"

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. How's the little girl?"

"We got lucky, nothing more then I expected. Just have the cot ready and we're going to have one more person with us."

"Okay, we'll be there at 10. Andros out." then the communicator went dead.

Adam sighed and sat back against the couch. He would have much to do. But for tonight he would enjoy himself and his ice cream. He had his family and his daughter in law. And a gorgeous sexy wife…in fact…his thoughts trailed off as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed his house.

"Hello?" came Tanya's voice.

"Hey Tanya."

* * *

**Well, you like? Let me know!**

**Now that the serious drama is over for the moment, we can get on with RJ and Lily!**

**See you next chapter!**


	10. The Date

**Here you go everyone. The chapter all of you have been waiting for. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Mommy, where are you going?" asked the little girl with soft brown hair as she sat on the bed.

Adriana had taken to calling her mommy ever since the nice doctor had come to talk to her. Lily stood at the mirror putting the little rhinestones studs in her ear that she had found the last time she had gone shopping.

She turned around to smile at her daughter that had chosen her. "I'm going on a date with your dad."

"Why?"

Lily sat on the bed and gathered the little girl in her arms. "Because, your daddy and I want to get to know each other better."

"But don't you already know each other?" the child was just full of questions.

"Yes we do. But not like a real mommy and daddy do. Before you came we were just friends. Now that we know that we love each other, we want to spend some time together."

"Are you gonna kiss him?"

_Oh damn_. Lily hoped she was answering these questions right.

"That all depends on how the date goes. Your dad and I want to become the mommy and daddy you need so we have to talk and if the talking leads to kissing then yes, we will. But we don't want to rush anything."

"Oh, okay."

Kissing the little cub on the forehead, Lily got up and inspected herself in the mirror. Tonight she was wearing a white cami underneath a yellow cardigan and a pair of blue jeans. Around her neck she wore a strand of faux pearls. It was a cool night so she didn't bother pulling her hear back, it hung down her back in soft curls. The only thing that held it back was a decretive black headband.

A pair of sturdy brown sandals complemented the outfit. She was never one to pile on the makeup so she only wore some powder. Lastly she wore some sweet smelling perfume called Sweet Embrace that she'd picked up from Victoria's Secret a few months before. She'd never really expected to wear it but here she was, spraying some on.

"Mommy, you look beautiful!" said Adriana standing next to her. "I wish I could look beautiful like that."

Lily picked her cub up and sat her on the dresser. "You young lady are already beautiful. You don't even have to put an effort into it."

Adriana frowned. "But my other mommy told me…"

"It doesn't matter what your other mommy said." Lily said cutting her off. "I'm your mommy now and I'm not gonna stop being your mommy. And I say now that you are beautiful just the way you are and that's never gonna stop. Okay?"

Adriana grinned and hugged her neck tight. "I love you Mommy."

"I love you too Sweetheart. Now come on, I bet your dad's waiting for us down stairs."

* * *

RJ gave himself one last inspection in the mirror. Tonight he wore a purple button down shirt and a pair of blue jeans and some nice dress shoes. He had shaved already and had on some musky cologne that he had picked out that day. He prayed he wasn't wearing too much. He went to the kitchen and pulled out a small wrist corsage that he'd picked up at the local florist.

It was a radiant mixture of yellow roses and purple freesia with soft tendrils of greenery here and there. It wasn't a bouquet of roses but Lily didn't seem the type that needed over indulgence, which he and his modest bank account were grateful for.

He now stood ready in the middle of the loft where the excersise mats were with Casey whom had volunteered to babysit and Master Finn whom had wanted to spend some time with his newly discovered grand daughter.

"Maybe I should go up and see if she's ready." Casey said starting for the stairs.

"No need." said RJ as the door to Lily's room opened. He smiled at the sight of Adriana tugging on Lily's hand. "Alright I'm coming, I forgot my purse."

Master Finn chuckled as his eyes went from the open door to his son's face. His eyes were locked on the beautiful young woman coming down the stairs.

Lily bit her lip nervously as she felt RJ's eyes on her. She was watching the stiars so she wouldn't fall down the stairs disgracing herself. Finally as she reached the bottom step she slowly lifted her eyes to meet a set of adoring brown ones that were drinking her in.

"Lily, wow, you look…beautiful." RJ stammered as his eyes roamed over his date. The statement led to Lily's blushing and the snickering of Casey that was barely muffled.

But the two lovebirds didn't notice. Lily barely breathed as RJ kissed her cheek and then gently slipped on the corsage on her wrist.

"They're gorgeous." Lily said in a soft voice.

"Not as gorgeous as the woman wearing them. You put them to shame." he replied softly.

Lily smiled at him and looked down at her feet…or rather at Adriana who was grinning up at the both of them.

Seeing their daughter they chuckled and RJ picked her up and held her close.

"You be good for your uncle Casey and grandpa, okay little cub? I expect you to be asleep by the time we get home."

"Okay daddy." Adriana kissed his cheek and then allowed Casey to pick her up and then started giggling when he started tickling her stomach.

RJ shook his head and then spoke to his dad. "Thanks for watching the kids tonight."

Casey rolled his eyes at the implied insult and just grinned at Adriana who was trying to tickle him back. She succeded catching him off guard tickling the spot on the side of his stomach. He laughed out loud falling on his back. He didn't want to push her off and risk her getting hurt so he settled for begging for mercy.

Master Finn regarded his student with a raised eyebrow before turning his attention back to his son. "They'll be fine, I'll make sure they're in bed before 9. You two go have some fun."

"Thanks Dad." RJ said before grinning at Lily and ushering her to the stairs.

Normally Lily would have been insulted by any man trying to order her around that wasn't her teacher. But this was RJ and when he was like this she felt more and more like a woman.

When they got to the front door, RJ was surprised when she gave him an odd look after he opened the door for her. He gave her a reassuring smile and it warmed her to the core as she stepped over the threshold into the twilight.

RJ closed the door and locked up. All the while pondering why Lily hesitated at the door. Could it be that she had never learned the customs associated with dating? He'd thought for sure she would have picked up some of the knowledge at the Pai Zhug school.

_But then again, this is a new century. Maybe such customs are lost now a days. Still, Lily is a young woman and I'm going to treat her like one._

"So, where to?" Lily asked breaking into his thoughts.

RJ smiled at her. "Dating customs dictate that it's the man's job to plan the date. You'll just have to trust me on this. I promise you won't be disappointed."

He grinned at her and held out his hand. Now this she knew and took his hand in hers and they began walking.

* * *

Lily looked at the building in wonder. It was a resturant on the outskirts of town. It was obviously a Chinese resturant from the architecture. There was a mulan tree on the front lawn and two beautiful dragons with emerald green eyes guarded the entrance.

"What is this place?" Lily asked in awe.

"It's a restaurant called the Dragon's Cave. It's a theme restaurant that's been here for a while. You like it?" RJ answered. "But you've seen nothing yet. The inside's even better." He opened the door and she once again walked through.

Instantly she was hit with the tantalizing aroma of Chinese food. Instantly, an oriental woman in her 50's approached them wearing a green kimono. She smiled and bowed to them. "Welcome to the Dragon's Cave. How many?"

RJ and Lily bowed in return. "It's just the two of us." The wolf master said taking Lily's hand again.

The waitress smiled at them. "Please follow me."

They were led into a dark interior room that looked very much like a cave, in the front of the room was a fountain built into the wall with running water over a rock garden.

The room was lit with small candelabras that were suspended from the ceiling. Several low tables surrounded with floor cushions were situated all around the room. On the far wall a statue of a sleeping dragon was situated along the wall. Lily looked again and saw that the statue was…breathing.

"I see you have discovered our pet dragon. He's an animatronic. Every once in a while he'll lift his head, look around blow some smoke and then put his head back down and go to sleep."

"Oh that's cool!" Lily breathed.

"I knew you'd like this place." RJ said lightly touching the small of her back. "Come on, the table's this way."

They were led to the back of the room to a table and RJ helped Lily sit and then sat down himself on the opposite side.

"Here are your menus. Your waitress will be here in a moment to serve you." She said bowing slightly to them and then walked away.

RJ inclined his head and then shifted his attention to his date. "Do you like Saki?"

"I never had it before. It wasn't readily available at the tem…school."

RJ smiled at the almost slip. "It's okay. I think we should have some tonight night. Or if you want we can just settle for some tea and water.

I'm underage though. RJ grinned at her. "Glad to know you weren't planning to trick the waitress. It's okay, if you want we can have some tea instead. What would you like?"

Lily looked the menu over. She was about to speak when their waitress approached the table. She bowed to them and took out a pad of paper and a pen from her blue kimono. She looked to be only 25 or so. She had brownish red hair that was put up in a bun with a pair of matching hair sticks holding it up.

"Welcome to the Dragon's Cave. My name is Dakota. Are you ready to order?"

Lily didn't miss the fact that the smile she wore didn't reach her eyes. The slight discoloration of a hickey wasn't completely covered by the cover-up she wore and her black eyeliner looked as if it had been done in a hurry without much care. On second look she could also spot a bruise on her cheek that wasn't covered up very well either. And that was not it either. There was a subdued aura about her that didn't seem to match up…"

"Lily? What would you like to eat?"

Lily jumped at the sudden question and then blushed realizing that she'd been staring at the waitress. "I'm sorry. I think I would like to start out with some egg drop soup and then some Teriyaki chicken over some white rice."

The waitress smiled at her again. "And to drink?"

"I'd like some Saki. Please." The waitress smiled again. "Would you like it chilled or warm?"

"We'll take it chilled please." RJ said smiling up at the waitress.

She bowed to them again and turned around walking with a slight limp.

RJ met Lily's eyes and gave her a knowing look. "We don't know for sure what's going on. We shouldn't act until we know what we're getting into. For all we know she could be…never mind. Tonight's about you ok?"

Lily nodded and pushed the thought into the back of her mind. "Adriana was just full of questions tonight."

RJ's eyes lit up at the mention of their little daughter. "I'm not surprised. She wants so bad for you to be her mom…really be her mom. If she could she'd drag us to the nearest church and make the vows for us." RJ blushed and closed his eyes mentally berating himself for saying what he'd just said.

Lily was taken aback for a moment but quickly recovered. "Actually, she was asking where I was going out dressed up like this for."

RJ chuckled. "It's good that she's getting curious. She's come out of her shell. I'm a little surprised that it didn't take longer then it did."

Lily shrugged. "It's easy when you have so many people that love you and make you feel safe."

RJ smiled and reached across the table taking her hand.

Just then, the waitress returned with a bottle of Saki which still had frost on it. Lily went to reach for it when RJ stopped her. She looked at him in confusion.

"When drinking Saki, its customary to not pour it for yourself. That's my job. And then if you like you may pour mine."

He then picked it up and poured it into a wine glass and handed it to lily. "It's smells sweet…like fruit."

"Just one of the many ways to serve it. I think this is the best way.." Once she accepted her glass, she poured one for RJ and gave his glass to him.

"I'm new to dating…I hope I'm doing everything right." Lily stammered blushing.

"So am I. I was so busy training that I never got around to spending time with beautiful women such as yourself."

Lily ducked her head. RJ used his hand to lift her chin up. It's true. I think youre the most fascinating women ever. Your so tough and yet you so easily blush at a mere compliment." This last part was spoken softly.

The yellow ranger swallowed. "I..I'm not used to being complemented. At school I was just one girl in the midst of many other more talented and more attractive girls."

RJ shook his head and then looked her in the eyes. "I want you to get used to being complimented. You've been through a tough time with Dai Shi attacking the city day after day. I think that makes you more then a mere girl. You turned into a woman before my very eyes." he was speaking in a soft tone again, one that was filled with tenderness.

His hand was still under her chin so it was impossible to duck her head again. "And a beautiful woman at that." he continued. It's not just your outside looks that makes you beautiful. It's also your gentleness. The way you treat Adriana is more then she could have expected with her…birth mom."

"I can't help but love her. She's my daughter now. Even if it's not legal…yet."

RJ sat back as the waitress came back with the food. The food was delicious and the Saki made it even better. They left the resturant with full stomachs.

* * *

The moon was out by the time they left. RJ had told her that they were going for a walk so they could digest the rich food they had eaten. Before long they had arrived at the lake.

A cool breeze had begun to blow making the smooth surface of the lake ripple. The bright crescent in the sky shown down on the water. It made the atmosphere so peaceful…as if she were dreaming. But the arm that was now wrapping around her waist told her without a doubt that she was very much awake. She looked up at RJ who seemed to be in his own world.

She squeezed his hand. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"The going rate for the internal thoughts of a wolf master is a dollar, actually. "But they're free to you." RJ said smiling down at her.

"I was just thinking of the best way to spill my heart to you…without it turning into a soap opera."

Lily turned to see a place where they could sit comfortably. Just a few feet away was a big tree with a thick trunk. "Why not sit first and then just tell me what's on your mind." she suggested.

RJ led her to the tree and helped her sit down. He attentively put an arm around her holding her close.

"I meant what I said tonight. I am so profoundly attracted to you. There's not a single thing about you that I don't love. The protective way you went after Angel…the fire in your eyes…it thrilled me to no end. My heart was touched when I saw you cradling my daughter that first night. I wasn't sure at first if you could handle the task of being a mother to her. But when you offered yourself up to be Adriana's mom…that's how I knew you could do it."

RJ took a deep breath before continuing.

"I don't know much about love. Outside of the fatherly love I feel towards my…our cub. But I do know that what I had with Angel for the night that it lasted wasn't it. It was purely physical activity. There was no love involved at all. I want to explore the love we have…I have this pure need to be with you. If I were to wake up and you not be there, my very spirit would cry out."

RJ stopped for a moment and blushed himself. "And there goes the soap opera."

Lily smiled up at him. "If that was a soap opera, I'd be willing to watch it." Lily turned to face him. "That was beautiful and from the heart…and it touches me in a way that no poet ever could. When I first came here, I was attracted to you. You're so unique in your manner, the way you speak, the way you taught us. It's made me a better warrior. I love watching you dance. You have this lightness of spirit that I…I feel I could get swept away with it. When I was at the temple, I always felt the eyes of the masters burning into my back. I felt that if I made even one mistake they would pounce on me."

"But with you…I'm an equal. I don't have to be nervous. I feel so at ease around you. Everything about you is so captivating. I don't want to be without you. I want to be Adriana's mom. She's as sweet as her dad is handsome. That time when you ran away, I felt this urgency to find you. When you sacrificed yourself for us. I was scared for you. I didn't want to lose you. I've never felt more sure of myself then when youre next to me. I have a lot to discover about love still. I know it's more then just my heart pounding out of my chest when you're around…or the way I feel when you hold me." her voice softened up when she felt his arms around her, pulling her close to him again.

"Like this?" he asked as he lowered his lips to hers and gently kissed them. Lily's body was instantly filled with warmth and she felt herself drawing into him. Hoping that the kiss would never end.

The saki was making her braver then she'd ever been and it proved helpful when she pressed into the kiss silently asking for more. He answered using his tongue to gently press against her lips and from some instinct she didn't know she had, she opened.

She could feel him probe around her mouth tenderly exploring. The moment he caressed her tongue with his she felt a tiny moan escape her mouth. Instantly the kiss ended leaving them both breathless.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry that I let it get that far. That's not what I planned for your first kiss. I was going to work up to that slowly…I."

RJ stop it." Lily interrupted. When he stopped babling she continued. "That kiss felt so amazing. I had to have more. I felt such a shiver go through me. I wish you hadn't stopped."

"No Lily, I was going way to fast. The last thing I want is to have it go to far and you lose your virginity on the first date. I don't want to screw this thing up."

"You didn't screw anything up. Angel is nothing but a stupid heartless bitch. She's not worthy of you and if she ever comes around the house I'll disembowel her my self. She's not worthy of having a daughter or of having you. If I have to make love to you tonight to make you forget her then you're free to take me anytime you want."

RJ looked at her with amazement. "Lily, you don't have to do anything to prove yourself to me. I love you as you are. Every moment you're with me I'm thinking of her less and less. Your love is enough to erase her from my memory."

Lily smiled at his words.

"I want to do this thing the right way. When we have our first time making love, it will be in our bed and when you're my wife."

"I want to be your wife…and Adriana's mom…someday."

RJ smiled. "I was hoping you would say that." he pulled out a ring from his pocket and showed it to her. It was a simple ring with a golden band with a small amethyst jewel in the middle.

I know you deserve better…but with having to pay child support I drained my account. I found this ring several years ago as I was going through my mom's things after she died.

"It's beautiful. I love it."

"I hope this isn't going to fast for you. I know it's really soon to be asking this…I guess I should have asked your father's permission first. I-" he was silenced by her lips on his as she all but tackled him to the ground.

After several more minutes of making out they finally came up for breath.

"I think we should go back before it gets too late. My dad and Casey will want to go to sleep some time before dawn."

Lily laughed and pecked his lips again before getting up. "Yeah, just let me fix my hair."

RJ chuckled and helped her pick the grass and a stray leaf or two. When they finished the communal grooming they started towards Jungle Karma Pizza.

When they arrived, they found themselves chuckling softly at the sight that greeted them.

Casey was sitting on the couch with Adriana laying in his lap with her head on the armrest. His head was leaned back and his mouth hung open…and he was snoring softly.

Master Finn was resting comfortably in RJ's chair with the cover to _Spirited Away _in his lap. It was a film that was quickly becoming the little girl's favorite movie.

"Should we wake them?" Lily asked as RJ walked away for a minute. He came back with a camera.

"Not before we capture this Kodak moment on camera." then he clicked the button, taking the picture.

Surprisingly, the flash didn't wake them up, and so they decided to go bed. At the entrance to Lily's room RJ kissed her forehead. "Night sweetheart. I'll see you in the morning."

Lily hugged him close resting her head on his chest for a moment. "Night Wolf Master." Then she kissed him again before heading to her room.

No one saw the big sappy grin on his face as he went to his room and closed the door.

Everyone slept good that night.

* * *

**Adrianna's adorable in this chapter is she not?**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Before I get any smart ass flames, I checked on two differents sites finding out everything I could about Saki or Sake however you want to spell it. Please don't flame me if it's not exactly perfect.**

**Yes, I did base the resturant off of Rainforest Cafe which is one of my favorite resturants ever! **

**Yes, Dakota will come up again in this story.**

**See you next chapter!**


	11. The Morning After

**Hey everyone. I know this chapter is a bit short, but I hope you'll enjoy it. **

**This is the last chapter in this story and will be continued in the comming installment.**

**Read On!**

* * *

The Next Morning

Adriana woke up the next morning and yawned widely. She had no memory of how she got there. The last thing she remembered was watching the movie with her grandpa and uncle Casey.

She yawned and stretched before sitting up in her bed. Looking around she noticed that her mom wasn't in her bed across the way. After stretching again she got out of bed and slipped into her little pink bunny slippers and then walked out of the room. What she saw made her eyes go big.

Mommy and Daddy sitting on the couch and holding each other…and kissing! She grinned and hurried down the stairs almost tripping and then hurried to her parents.

She climbed onto the couch and hugged her daddy from behind and they broke apart blushing a little before RJ smiled at her and twisted around to settle her into his lap.

"Hey Little Wolf Cub. Did you sleep good last night?" he asked softly tickling her tummy.

"Uh huh. What were you doing to Mommy?"

RJ grinned. "Mommy and I were kissing. Its what we do to show how much we love each other."

He gave Lily a look and she continued. "You see Sweetheart. Your daddy asked me to marry him last night. Now I can be your mommy for real." she showed the little girl her ring. "And I want you to be my flower girl."

"What do I get to be?" asked Casey as he sleepily came down the stairs rubbing his eyes like a little boy. He was already dressed in his teaching clothes.

Lily grinned. "Well, if you want you can be a flower girl too…though I don't think you'd look to good in a dress."

Casey squeezed his eyes shut. "Yeah, I walked into that. I really need to get some coffee."

RJ chuckled. "I do have an opening for a groomsmen. "You'd look better in a tux anyway."

Adrian bit her lip. "Mommy, do I have to wear a dress too?"

Lily took the little girl in her arms. "Flower girls _do_ wear dresses at the wedding, but for you I'll make an exception. You only have to wear a dress if you really want to."

"Are you gonna wear a dress, Mommy?" the little girl asked looking back up at Lily.

"Yes, a nice white one with a veil."

"And you'll look beautiful in it." RJ said before looking down at his daughter. "Your uncle Dom may have to remind me to breathe." RJ said grinning at her.

"I have another uncle?"

"Yep, he watched over you when I couldn't. And right now he's out traveling with his girlfriend Fran. She'll be you're aunt soon enough. She's one of our best friends."

"If you want to get dressed, cub, you can help me on the errands today. I want to browse the bridal shop today. You never know what we'll find. But you gotta hurry!"

Adrina jumped up and hurried to her room.

Lily chuckled and pecked RJ's lips. "You're really getting this dad thing down."

"Only with your help my beautiful Cheetah."

Casey coughed into his hand and turned away. "While you're being all lovey dovey, I have a class to teach. See you all later."

RJ grinned. "Well, that's one way to clear a room."

Lily grinned. "No need to demonstrate the other way."

"I may be a wolf master, but I'm no beast."

"That's good to know." Lily said looking at him and smiling softly at him. "I love you RJ."

RJ kissed her again. "I love you too. You better get going. The early bird gets the worm."

Lily kissed him one more time and then left the room.

RJ watched her go and then pulled out his cell phone. "Hey "Dom, when can you get here?"

* * *

13 year old Jimmy Scion woke up to the sound of shouting. He got up and hurried into his clothing and picked up his duffle bag that already had his work out clothes in it.

He already knew what was going on. Dakota, his sister had displeased her new boyfriend and he was punishing her for it. He had no idea why as she worked hard every day and came home late at night.

He put on his shoes and walked down the stairs being very quiet and stopped on the bottom step listening in.

"You're telling me you spent your paycheck on clothes? What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"My brother is a growing boy. His well-being comes before anyones. I worked hard to keep him from being taken away and I'm not going to stop now. He needed new clothes and that's what I spent it on."

He heard the sound of flesh being slapped.

"You're lying. With all those hours you spend at work, you should be making enough to make the apartment rent. With my disability I can't work. We're gonna lose this townehouse if you don't stop wasting the funds."

"Stupidity isn't a disability and I will not be treated this way. You can find your own place to live. I don't need you."

"I can make life very hard for you."

Some one got slapped again and a hiss was heard. "I don't care. Get out!"

That was it. Jimmy came out of hiding and charged the bigger man and he fell flat on his butt making a hole in the screen door.

Then a growl was heard and a black spectral viper charged out of the boy who screamed loudly and a white tiger came out of him and the two animal spirits tangled until finally, the tiger couldn't hold up any longer and the viper spirit sunk it's talons into the tigers neck and the cub whimpered and limped back into the boy who sagged on the floor looking pale.

Dakota looked down on the floor and then back up at her boyfriend. "It's over. Come near my brother again and I'll kill you. You'll be lucky if I don't call the police on you and charge you with child abuse."

"You do that and I'll expose you to your boss. He won't want a ho to service his tables. And with you on the street, CPS won't hesitate to seize the boy."

His sister sighed.

"That's what I thought. Now, be a good girl and have the money by tonight. If you don't, well, you won't have to worry about that little whelp any more."

Jimmy felt the cold gray eyes bore into him as he lay on the floor. His sister gathered him into her arms as the bully walked out.

Right then and there, Jimmy made a decision. He would work harder and harder to make his spirit stronger until it could defeat Mike and he would keep his sister safe.

"That's what the red ranger would do wasn't it?"

**To Be Continued**

* * *

**A huge piece of virtual thrilla gorilla pizza to whoever remembers who Jimmy is. **

**I decided to cut this story off here because now this story is going to focus more on Casey then on Lily, RJ, and Adrianna. If anyone of you asks me to update this story, I'll know who among you doesn't bother to read the AN**

**See you in the next story and please leave non flamitory reviews. You don't want that review button to get lonely do you?**


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